Hachi
by shherie
Summary: {NaruSasu} "No-one had been more surprised than Sasuke by just how hard he'd fallen for that moronic dead-last; and now he wanted a family with Naruto! Was Sasuke even still himself, or had he become someone who only wanted what Naruto did?" A fic about Naruto and Sasuke starting their family, with a whole heap of domestic fluff and a touch of angst. "Mpreg"? No, not quite...!
1. Chapter 1

I wanted to write a story about our boys in the future: after almost ten years together, what would have changed, what would have stayed the same? Would they still fight as much? (Short answer: YES, of course, ahaha.) And after my Christmas drabbles featuring my SNS baby Hachi, I got a lot of people asking me how he'd come to be.

So this fic is about Naruto and Sasuke finally starting their family. I fear there won't be much external action: this is almost entirely domestic fluff, with a fair bit of angst thrown in for good measure- with these two, what would you expect?

I've tentatively labeled this as mpreg, but please note that neither of our boys is ACTUALLY getting pregnant here. So how does it happen? You'll have to read to find out! And even though this is primarily NaruSasu, there WILL be SasuNaru as well- they like to mix things up sometimes.

(Also…does it count as a sequel for Lost on the Road of Life if almost ten years has gone by? I'm not sure but…well okay, it IS a sequel, and it follows my other Konoha-verse one-shots as well. But none of those are required reading: I think this fic can probably stand on its own.)

* * *

 **Chapter One**

Who would have thought that Naruto Uzumaki, a creature of pure impulsiveness and completely lacking in self-control, could have ever learned how to hold onto his anger? Yet he lasted the entire party, from the afternoon until late at night, and no-one save those who knew him best would have known that he was _fuming_. Yes, he'd learned how to act, at long last.

But Sasuke knew; and he knew that the moment they returned home, they were in for a fight. Oh, it had been brewing for _months_ \- almost a year, even, ever since Sakura had announced that little Sakumo was on his way. Today's party had been to celebrate the chubby baby boy's third month. All day the tension had been pushing past boiling-point. Sasuke could see it in the way Naruto held his shoulders, the stiffness in his back, the smile that was just a little too crooked.

And he'd avoided Sasuke the whole night, not even _looking_ at him save for that one wistful, longing glance Naruto had sent in his direction, when Sasuke had been cradling Sakumo on the couch. _Okay, Naruto, I get it_ , Sasuke thought to himself as they left Sakura's house and headed home. _You've dropped enough hints. You want_ _ **more**_.

It took precisely two minutes to walk from Sakura's house to their own through the trees. Sasuke held open the front door as Naruto stormed passed him and headed for their bedroom.

"Tea?" Sasuke called, ignoring the blonde's rapidly deteriorating mood as he himself moved towards the kitchen.

"Mm," Naruto mumbled back, flashing him a brief look before disappearing around the corner. That meant _yes_ , so Sasuke placed two cups on the kitchen counter as he boiled a kettle of water.

By the time Naruto reappeared Sasuke was perched at the kitchen table with his hands wrapped around a warm cup of green tea, mentally preparing himself for the coming argument. They'd been together now for- eight years? Nine? After all this time Naruto had gotten so good at deciphering Sasuke's wants and wishes without the need for words, but apparently this was just too big of an issue for him to let go of.

Naruto took his own cup of tea from the counter and sat down at the opposite end of the long table. He didn't drink it; he just sat there glowering down at the table, his eyes hardening, his fingers curling into a fist.

"You might as well just say it," Sasuke spoke, his voice low and flat. He took another sip of tea. "Out with it, then."

"Don't see the point," Naruto muttered, glancing up only briefly. "You don't want a kid."

That wasn't entirely true; he just didn't want a kid _any more_. He _had_ wanted one. He'd been so involved with Sakura and Kakashi's first baby, after all- often against his will. Being the Hokage's assistant meant diaper-changing and bottle-feeding, according to Kakashi's logic. Well, Sasuke had gotten used to baby Yuzu, and for a whole month- maybe _two_ or _four_ even- all he'd wanted was one of his own.

"You had your chance," Sasuke said across the table calmly.

Naruto exploded, slamming his hand down on the table. "That was _five years ago_ , Sasuke! I'm allowed to change my mind!"

Sasuke exhaled softly, placing his cup down on the table. "We agreed. No children. End of story."

"Things _change_!" Naruto declared, "and you can't just decide something like that by yourself! You've been telling anyone who'll listen that we're _never_ having children, don't you know how hurtful that is?!"

He had to hold himself back from rolling his eyes. Oh, it _really_ annoyed Naruto when he did that. "Anyone who'll listen? Honestly, Naruto, you make it sound like I'm going out of my way to do it," he growled.

"Aren't you?" Naruto said to that. "I heard you just the other day with Kiba, and-"

"-Kiba hounds me about it every time he adds to his litter!" Sasuke shot. "And I _hate_ it. He thinks I'm stopping you from having a dozen children of your own!"

"Aren't you," Naruto repeated, muttering it under his breath, glaring down at the table-top.

Sasuke took a deep breath, and then another. "We both know that isn't true. _You're_ the one who said no. We could have had a family this whole time-"

"How long are you going to hold onto that?!" Naruto exclaimed. "I don't know _how_ many times I've apologised-"

"Not enough," Sasuke grumbled, half to himself. All that work, all that effort to convince himself that he really wanted it- and feeling _sure_ that Naruto wanted the same, that he'd be _happy_ \- and he was refused. Flatly. He'd been shocked.

"Give me a number, Sasuke," Naruto growled back. "A hundred more apologies? A _thousand_?"

"We _agreed_ ," Sasuke murmured. "I wanted one, you didn't, and you got your way."

"Look, I was _surprised_!" Naruto said to that. "Who the hell would have expected that from _you_?! It wasn't the right time-"

"And now is?" Sasuke interrupted, ignoring the brief stab of pain at Naruto's words. "Less than a year after becoming Hokage? We're busier than ever before. Great idea, Naruto."

Naruto pushed himself up from the table, his chair scraping along the floor with a loud screech. Sasuke winced. Those were brand-new floorboards. "It _is_ the right time!" Naruto declared, pacing up and down from the table to the counters. "We've never been so settled. We've never stayed in one place so long!"

There was no denying that. Two years they'd lived away from Konoha, when they first got together. And then Naruto's years of missions, his time as a Jounin instructor; Sasuke's trips to other villages on Hokage business, sometimes with Naruto as well. There'd been nothing _settled_ about their way of life.

And yes, things had been difficult at times. It had been hard work- but it had paid off. They were happy. They had a new house, they'd even gotten _married_. Why do anything to risk that?

Sasuke sighed, his eyes following Naruto's movements back and forth across the kitchen floor. "You'll get over it, Naruto," he said. "You only want kids now because of Sakumo. Babies do that to you."

"That's not fair," Naruto scowled, pausing just briefly to flash Sasuke a wicked glare. "Can't you give me any credit?! I've been thinking about this for _ages_ , you know I have!"

"Do I," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Won't you at least _consider_ it?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You can't bully me into wanting kids," Sasuke said, standing up and sliding his chair back under the table. "It's late. I'm tired."

"Sasuke!"

"I'm having a shower," Sasuke shot over his shoulder, as he walked away and headed for the bathroom. Better to leave now before he said something he regretted.

Because oh, that had all hurt _so_ much, all those years ago. Sasuke had changed a lot since the war; of _course_ he had, and Naruto had changed too. They'd adjusted to each other's presence, they'd moulded themselves to fit each other's needs. They'd done it willingly; _more_ than willingly. The rewards had been beyond anything Sasuke could ever have dreamed of.

No-one had been more surprised than Sasuke by just how hard he'd fallen for that moronic dead-last. He'd been _aghast_ when he'd realised he wanted a family with Naruto, and it had been hard to come to terms with that. Was Sasuke still _himself_ , or had he become someone who only wanted what _Naruto_ did?

Except that Naruto _hadn't_ wanted a family. So the chance had gone by, and Sasuke had gotten hurt. And there was one thing about Sasuke that would never, ever change: he didn't forgive easily.

* * *

He took a long, steaming-hot shower, doing his best to push his anger aside and failing completely.

Back when he and Naruto had first gotten together- all that long, first year- they'd tried to stop themselves from fighting so much. Shouldn't they get along, now that they were in a relationship? Needless to say, it hadn't worked- at all. Things between them had always been explosive. Trying to avoid that had just meant they'd avoided _each other_. For days they'd ignore the other, just getting angrier and angrier.

So yes, they fought all the time. Small disagreements, mostly. No, Sasuke _didn't_ want ramen for dinner three times in a row; yes, Naruto _did_ insist that they go to Chouji's birthday party. But big fights like this? It had been building for a long time, and it had the potential to be truly destructive.

But that didn't mean that Sasuke was going to back down. Why _should_ he? Naruto could just stew on it for a few days, until he realised he was being unreasonable.

…and yet.

When Sasuke emerged from the bathroom he found Naruto curled up in bed, looking completely miserable. One look at his downcast eyes and despondent figure had Sasuke's resolve crumbling at once.

Sasuke crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing away from him. "Truce," he murmured, eyes on the floor. "We'll talk about it again tomorrow."

He heard Naruto make a noise of surprise, and when he looked over his shoulder he saw Naruto's frown wavering. "You mean it?" he said. "Truly?"

"Mm," Sasuke said back, leaning over and giving Naruto a quick peck on the cheek. That would have to do for a good-night kiss. "I'm really angry at you," he added, turning around and slipping under the covers- as far away on his side of the bed as he could manage.

"I'm just as angry at _you_ ," Naruto retorted, holding his hand to his cheek, his skin flushed lightly pink. " _More_ angry!"

Well, maybe he _was_ , but they'd have to pause that while they slept. They'd learned the hard way, after _many_ years of arguments: don't go to sleep angry. Sasuke was a master of holding grudges, and Naruto had quickly learned from the best. Their fights could last _weeks_ after a whole night of letting their grievances simmer.

"I'm going to sleep now," Sasuke said, switching off his bedside lamp, his body stiff and tense as he settled down on the pillows. "…good night."

"Good night, Sasuke," Naruto said, and as Sasuke closed his eyes he felt the bed jostle as Naruto rearranged his sheets and pillows. Then the room went completely dark, and all was silent.

Of _course_ Sasuke doubted that Naruto truly wanted children. He'd been so against it when Sasuke had brought it up. Said he wanted it to be just them- that he _needed_ it to be just them. He didn't want to _share_. There was no way Sasuke was going through that again if this was just one of Naruto's passing whims.

Sasuke focused on his breathing, in and out, turning away any thoughts of anger that passed through his mind. He had to forget all that, and just sleep. And so he sighed, buried himself further under his blanket, and tried to do just that.

* * *

"Sasuke," came Naruto's voice, breaking through Sasuke's sub-conscious. He hadn't been asleep, not properly; he'd been drifting, tense and unhappy, tossing and turning. "Sasuke…" Naruto said again, louder this time.

Sasuke tried to ignore him, but Naruto inched closer to his side, sliding across the sheets until he was right by Sasuke's back, but not touching. Naruto needed comfort when he was upset; Sasuke needed to not be touched when he was angry. Their compromise? …yes, there it was- Naruto's hand clenched onto Sasuke's shirt, gripping the fabric tight in his fist.

"Sasuke…" Naruto called again, the misery clear in his voice.

He sighed. "What?" he said, giving up on sleep. "You wanna fight some more?"

"No," Naruto said back. "Our truce-"

"Will _end_ , if you bring it all up again before morning."

Naruto fell quiet at that. Sasuke could feel the tension in the room- the slight tremor radiating from Naruto's body, the jagged edge to his breathing. "I just want to…I'll just _talk_ , okay?" Naruto said. "And you'll listen? We won't fight. I promise."

"Go to sleep," Sasuke instructed.

"I can't," Naruto whimpered. Actually _whimpered_. He'd been pushed passed his limit, apparently, and now he was properly upset. Oh, Sasuke couldn't _bear_ that- it stabbed at him, gripped his insides like an iron vice.

"Naruto…" Sasuke sighed, rolling over onto his back, tugging the blonde to his chest. Naruto clamped onto him at once, hands wrapping around his sides, holding on for dear life. "Okay, fine. Say what you need to say."

"They're just so _happy_ ," Naruto blurted out at once, speaking into Sasuke's shirt. "They're _complete_. But you're the only family I have, Sasuke. It's just you and me in the whole world. It scares me. What if- what if something _happens_?"

Sasuke said nothing to that. True to his word, he intended to only listen. Yes, he knew how Naruto felt- of course he did. And he wouldn't be reassured, even if Sasuke lay here and rattled off the miles-long list of people that Naruto had befriended, who loved him and considered him family.

"Say there was an accident," Naruto went on, his voice dull and quiet. "And Kakashi, he- you know. Sakura wouldn't be alone, not with Yuzu and Sakumo. She'll always have them."

Sasuke bit his lip. So Naruto thought that having kids would ease a loss of that magnitude? Not likely. No, not at _all_.

"And," Naruto continued. "You just never know what's coming. It could be you, it could be me. I can't _bear_ the thought of- and just thinking of you here in this house by yourself, I _can't_ -"

His voice cracked and Sasuke instantly brought his hand up to Naruto's head, ran his fingers down through that shaggy blonde hair, rubbed soothing circles into Naruto's tense shoulders. That was _not_ a good reason to have a child. It couldn't be. Naruto thought he was offsetting the risk of pain, by increasing their family? No, it would just give them both more to _lose_.

"Naruto…" Sasuke murmured, petting his hair, pressing his hands down his spine.

"I know," Naruto quickly said back. "And that's not the only reason, I _swear_ it's not. I've got _thousands_ , and I just- I just _want_ it, okay? I want it for us. But I- sometimes at night it's all I can think about, I get so scared of losing you and I can't _breath_ -"

"I'm not going anywhere," Sasuke interrupted. He knew that fear; he knew it very well. There _weren't_ any guarantees, no-one knew what was coming- but there were promises, and commitments. Sasuke wasn't going anywhere, for as long as it was in his power to stay by Naruto's side.

Naruto gasped in a sharp breath. "But-"

"Naruto, I know what it's like to watch you die," he said. And he was breaking the rules; it was one of their most taboo subjects, but it had to be said. "A baby wouldn't help with that. _Nothing_ could help with that."

Naruto fell silent at that, trembling slightly in Sasuke's arms before going still.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke," Naruto gushed. "I know how badly hurt you were back when I said no. I wasn't- I just wasn't _ready_. You've always been ahead of me, you know? Smarter. Faster. I should have trusted what you wanted."

Sasuke frowned. Is that really how he felt? Naruto's apology finally sounded _genuine_ , and some part of Sasuke finally let go of his grudge. "That's not true," Sasuke said. "That I've been ahead of you? Come on. You were the first one to say _I love you_."

Naruto laughed at that, a sudden, easy laugh, sending an instant flood of warmth and light through the room. "Oh, well, _that's_ true," Naruto teased, shifting on the bed, rolling over onto his side. He reached out a hand and tickled Sasuke's cheek. "Sasuke, you're so _funny_ sometimes!"

Sasuke blushed and was glad it wouldn't be seen in the dark. He slipped over to Naruto's side, curling into the warmth of him, feeling himself relax as the tension between them eased dramatically. "I really don't want to fight about this, Naruto," he said, nestling into Naruto's shoulder. "It has to be something we _both_ genuinely want, at the same time."

"I know," Naruto said back woefully, dropping a quick kiss to Sasuke's forehead. "Ugh, I just got so- but, look, we'll just put it all on hold, okay?"

"Yes, please," Sasuke murmured, closing his eyes, breathing in deep; that warm, comforting scent of his dead-last. "Besides, there aren't even any orphans _left_ in Konoha," he added. That had been one of the first things they'd focused on, when they returned back here and decided- eventually- to stay.

Naruto grinned; Sasuke could feel it against his skin. He always knew when Naruto was smiling like that. "Well, actually!" Naruto sang. "We wouldn't adopt. We'd have one of our own!"

Sasuke scoffed. This idiot, honestly. "May I remind you that we're both _men_?" he spoke lightly, mentally rolling his eyes at Naruto's words. "We _can't_ have a baby of our own." And what a blessing _that_ was. What if they ended up with- heaven forbid, a _blonde_ sharingan user?! He shuddered at the thought.

"Well, actually!" Naruto repeated. "Sakura and I have been talking a _lot_ , and we've got _heaps_ of ideas-"

"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted, his mind suddenly flooded with images, a deep feeling of dread taking over him. "Oh, god. I don't want to know!"

Naruto laughed again, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's shoulders, pulling him closer. "Okay, Sasuke," he hummed, leaning down and kissing him softly. "Whatever you say."


	2. Chapter 2

Hi all! Thank you for all your lovely comments on Chapter One. I'm so excited to share this new story with you guys; it's certainly something I've never tried before! We're moving at a reasonably fast pace here, so the answers of HOW our boys will have their baby are right here in this chapter. I wonder how many people guessed right….? Enjoy!

* * *

Naruto kept his promise and didn't bring it up again. Sasuke was relieved- and at least now that they'd fought about it, some of that tension had melted away.

He knew that Naruto was still thinking about it all. Sasuke could see it in his eyes, a silent plea whenever Yuzu came over to play in their yard or demanded that Sasuke help with her homework. He could _feel_ Naruto's longing in the air whenever Kakashi stopped by the tower and brought his bouncy baby boy with him.

But no, he didn't bring it up again, and there was peace between them once more. A calm, steady few weeks went by. Things were busy at work as usual, an endless series of meetings, plans, and proposals. Missions to approve and assign. Hours of paperwork, late nights in the darkened tower ensuring everything was done right. Naruto was slowly-but-surely adjusting to the role of Hokage, and Sasuke kept a firm hand on the wheel directing their teams of staff.

The New Year's Eve festival was right around the corner and Naruto was in his element making all the plans, rushing around town and throwing all his exuberant energy into making sure it would be better than ever before. Luckily Sasuke was right behind him, ensuring everything was in place so that those plans could come to life.

 _We're a good team_ , Sasuke thought to himself one night as they worked late in their home office. _Who would have ever thought?_ Not him, that was for sure. And yet here they were.

Sasuke paused for a moment, gazing over at his boisterous blonde working so seriously on his reports, chewing on the tip of his pencil. Naruto frowned, deep in concentration, completely lost to the outside world as he worked methodically at his task.

… _damn you, Naruto,_ Sasuke thought, a shiver running through him at the sight of Naruto across the desk from him. Sasuke had been caught hook, line and sinker by this guy, and he was perfectly content with it all.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, pushing his paperwork aside and standing up. "We'll finish this tomorrow. Let's go to bed."

"Eh?" Naruto said to that, looking up at him. "Oh but, we've got so much more work to do-"

"-never mind that," Sasuke interrupted, tugging Naruto up and over towards their bedroom. "I've got something _much_ more important for you to do."

* * *

Sasuke woke in the night, his chest tight and his breathing coming in jagged, harsh gulps. He shot up and clutched his chest, shaking and panicky and scared, feeling like he couldn't breathe at _all_ \- oh, it _hurt_ , he- He gasped as shooting pains ran down his arms and legs and his whole body shook uncontrollably.

There'd been _blood_ , so much blood- his own blood, his mother's, his fathers. Itachi…yes, even Itachi was dead now, he was all _alone_ , and there was Naruto too bleeding out on the ground in front of him- and someone was _screaming_ , a high-pitched, desperate sound filling his eyes and spiking his body with fear. He was drowning, being pulled under, a raging red water all around him and forcing its way into his lungs-

"Sasuke, _breath_ , that's it," came Naruto's voice through the water, a light in the darkness, catching his attention and holding it in place. "Just listen to me, okay? Take a breath in. Good. Now let it out. All the way out. _Yes_."

Sasuke whimpered and rocked back and forth, focusing his while mind and being on that voice, following its instructions as best he could.

"Good, Sasuke. It's almost over. Another breath. Yes, just like that." And then there were arms wrapped all around him, hands pressed into his back, rubbing up and down, soothing and warm and _real_.

"Naruto-" he gasped, opening his eyes and seeing the world come back to him, but it was all _spinning_ -

There was a flash of movement as Naruto slid off the bed next to him, manoeuvred Sasuke to sit on the edge, tugged on his shoulders gently until his upper body was leaning down. Naruto knelt there in front of him, taking his hands; Sasuke gripped them tight and concentrated on his breathing, and finally- _finally-_ it seemed to be over.

Sasuke breathed deep as his muscled unclenched and the world stopped spinning.

"There now," Naruto murmured, pushing Sasuke's hair back off his face. "You're okay."

"I'm sorry," Sasuke rasped, his voice dull, exhausted.

"Don't be silly," Naruto said to that. He let go of Sasuke's hands and wrapped his arms all the way around his waist instead, resting his head in Sasuke's lap. "Shit, that was _intense_."

"No kidding," Sasuke muttered. His breath still had a jagged edge to it; his mind still seemed heavy and ill at ease.

That had been _terrifying_ , and even more so since it seemed to have come out of nowhere. What had triggered it? Sasuke wasn't sure how long it had been since his last proper nightmare, but a part of him had started to hope that they were a thing of the past.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto spoke. "Do you need anything?"

"Some water, maybe," Sasuke said. Naruto pulled away from him and stood up. "…thank you, Naruto," he added.

"Of course," Naruto said to that, as he left the room. These attacks had been so much worse when he'd had to deal with them alone. Having Naruto there at all was a great gift. That Naruto had learned to handle them so _well_ was a marvel. It left Sasuke in shock to think about it sometimes.

Sasuke sighed and tucked his legs back under the sheets, leaning up against the headboard. His nightmare had put it all in stark relief. It was just like Naruto had been saying that night when they'd fought; they were _alone_. Orphans, both of them, the last of their families. Yes, they had friends- even Sasuke. They had support. They had a home. But was it enough?

 _It_ _ **is**_ , Sasuke growled to himself. He'd spent all these years since the incident assuring himself that it was.

"I brought you some tea as well," Naruto announced, and Sasuke blinked and jolted up, not having realised he'd returned.

He sniffed the air. "Camomile," he breathed. "Oh, that's perfect, Naruto."

Naruto grinned back at him. "I know you pretty well by now," he said, handing the mug to Sasuke and placing a glass of water on the table beside him. He strode around the room to his side of the bed and slipped back under the sheets.

"I know you do," Sasuke murmured, blowing softly over the surface of the tea and breathing in its soothing scent. He could feel his nerves calming already.

"Sasuke, I take it all back," Naruto suddenly said, completely out of the blue.

Sasuke frowned. "About what?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

"The…well, when we fought the other night. I've been thinking about it a lot and I- but we don't _have_ to kids, Sasuke, really we don't!" Naruto declared. "Things can just stay the same, okay? I'm so _sorry_ -"

"Naruto! What are you talking about?" Sasuke interrupted, alarmed by his sudden outburst.

"You- something's clearly _wrong,_ you haven't had one of these attacks in- more than a year, I'm sure. Why now? Sasuke, we should just forget all about it."

"I don't _want_ to forget about it," Sasuke snapped. "I need _time_ with these things, Naruto, you know I do! Don't go making my decisions for me!" What was Naruto saying? That he didn't _want_ a baby anymore?

Naruto frowned. "Oh, but you- you were so _adamant_ , and-"

"You definitely shouldn't have brought it up if you were going to change your mind so quickly," Sasuke growled. "I'm not an invalid, just because I have a nightmare or two doesn't mean I'm some delicate flower that shouldn't have children!"

Naruto's face fell. "Sasuke," he whimpered, sliding over towards him. "That's not what I- I was just worried that what I said might have _upset_ you…"

"Well, it did," Sasuke said to that. "And I'm sure I upset you right back. Look, Naruto, I know I hold onto things for too long. I hadn't forgiven you for saying no all those years ago. But now that I have, I just need some time, okay?"

"You've forgiven me?" Naruto gasped.

"… _yes_ ," Sasuke grumbled, sipping his tea again. Damn this guy. First Naruto makes him some nice calming tea, and then he starts an argument. Stupid dead-last.

"Well, in that case," Naruto went on, "…I don't take it back."

"I know," Sasuke said. "Of course you don't. Let's just…just think about it all some more."

Naruto hesitated. "But if you start having nightmares again…"

Sasuke shrugged. "We can't help that. Hell, you could get sick again tomorrow as well. We'll deal with it."

And with that thought he shifted over to Naruto's side of the bed and pressed a long, lingering kiss to his cheek. Naruto smiled back at him, taking a deep breath and settling against his side.

* * *

It was New Year's Eve. Today was technically their first wedding anniversary. That kind of thing usually called for a private celebration, didn't it? Not that Sasuke knew much about this kind of stuff. Honestly, their spur-of-the-moment wedding hadn't changed all that much about their lives. _We're the same people we were before,_ Sasuke mused. He glanced down at his hand, at the thin band of gold around his finger, glinting softly in the moonlight.

Still, Sasuke had made sure to give Naruto a small gift this morning- at Sakura's insistence- and had been happy to get one in return: his most favourite green tea, in a pretty little tin. And Naruto had wanted to spend the whole day together at home, but he was a very public figure now and he had duties.

So here they were, attending Konoha's New Year's Eve festival instead of being curled up together in bed. And despite his previous whinging Naruto was having a great time, chatting away happily with the townspeople all night long and eating all the junk food that Sasuke never let him have at home. _He'll be sick in the morning_ , Sasuke groaned to himself.

Sasuke put up with crowds for as long as he could, and then he snuck away with Sakura and baby Sakumo, and had a more subdued, but perfectly pleasant time in the park.

"He's enchanted, look," Sakura said, as Sasuke carried the little boy around the park looking at all the lights strung up through the trees. His wide grey eyes were sparkling with delight and he reached his chubby hands upwards.

"Mm, they're pretty," Sasuke agreed, shifting Sakumo to his other hip. Kakashi had already taken Yuzu home- she'd given up on reaching midnight and fallen fast asleep. "He'll definitely be awake for his first New Year's," Sasuke commented. Sakumo showed no signs of weariness.

"Did Naruto like his gift?" Sakura asked, referring to the overnight holiday that Sasuke had bought for them and presented to Naruto this morning.

"He loved it," Sasuke dutifully replied. "He wants to go right away. He's been whining about going away for ages."

"You both need to get away for a while," Sakura said, tousling Sakumo's pink hair and tickling his cheeks.

"It would be nice," Sasuke murmured, holding back a sigh. Well, sometime soon, hopefully.

They resumed their exploration of the park, holding Sakumo up to the trees so he could see the lights. He was a cute kid, all smiles and giggles. Sasuke couldn't help but reminisce about when Yuzu had been this small. No-one would ever have called Sasuke a _kid person_ , but he and Yuzu had gotten along well enough. And when she'd started speaking, _Sas_ had been her third word, right behind _mama_ and _dada_. Yes, Sasuke had melted. Who wouldn't have?

Naruto found the three of them in the park just before midnight. "Ah, Sasuke!" he remarked, latching onto his side with a wide grin. "There you are! Come back to the festival, it's time for the countdown!"

"Is it that late already?" Sakura asked, smiling at them both. "Let's get going then."

"Come to uncle Naruto!" Naruto cooed to the baby, taking him from Sasuke's arms. "We'd better walk fast," he added to Sasuke and Sakura as they returned to the crowed festival streets, weaving their way through the throngs of people to the stage. The crowd parted to let them through, calling out to their Hokage with glee.

"I guess I'll have no-one to kiss at midnight," Sakura said with a sigh, looking around and not seeing Kakashi anywhere. Sasuke suspected he'd fallen asleep right alongside Yuzu.

"Ah, you've got this one!" Naruto said, handing Sakumo over to his mother. "And look how cute he is!"

"That's true," Sakura replied, cuddling her son to her shoulder. "Oh, it's starting! Off you go, Naruto!"

Naruto nodded and waved goodbye, jumping up onto the stage to set off the midnight counter. The crowd erupted in cheers and all started chanting at once, counting down from ten. Sasuke stood close by Sakura's side, gazing up at his husband. Naruto exchanged smiles and greetings with his people, perfectly comfortable in the limelight, not at all bothered by thousands of eyes on him.

"Three, two, one," Sasuke murmured, and there was a rush of energy from the crowd; cries of delight rose from all there, and one mass _Happy New Year!_ took over.

 _It's a brand new year,_ Sasuke thought to himself, and he shivered slightly. He was suddenly overwhelmed by the sense of things _changing_ , something inside him moving, getting ready for the next big thing.

What was happening to him? Ever since that night…

"Happy New Year, Kumo-chan," Sakura cooed at her son, planting big, sticky kisses on his delighted face and drawing giggles from the boy. "It's gonna be a really nice year, I just know it!"

Sasuke looked around and couldn't see Naruto anywhere. That was to be expected, he supposed. There were surely dozens of people vying for his attention, eager to wish him well. But then all of a sudden Sasuke felt a hand curl around his wrist and he was being pulled away from the stage, and into a darkened corner.

"Got you, Sas," Naruto teased, stepping closer to him, running a finger down his cheek.

"Oh, there you are," Sasuke said back, wrapping his arms around Naruto's waist and snuggling into his chest. Maybe he would get his New Year's kiss after all. How had Naruto even escaped?!

"Happy New Year, Sasuke," Naruto murmured into his ear, his breath warm and sweet against Sasuke's skin. "A whole year now, can you believe it?" This time just twelve months ago their unplanned, spontaneous wedding had just ended.

"I can believe it," Sasuke said back, smiling softly as he turned his face upwards to meet Naruto's eyes. "Happy New Year, Naruto," he added.

"Aww, you're in a gushy mood tonight, Sasuke!" Naruto said with a grin, tucking his hand under Sasuke's chin, pulling him in gently for a kiss.

Sasuke sighed and melted, pressing against Naruto's lips, happy and content. It didn't matter how strange this all seemed. Sasuke Uchiha, madly in love and thinking of starting a family? No, no-one would have believed it. Well, no-one else _had_ to believe it. It was _his_ decision to make, in the end, and no-one could make it for him.

* * *

"We've barely had _any_ time to ourselves lately," Naruto whined, sulking as he harvested the last of their leeks in their newly-established vegetable garden. "Sasuke, we should go on a holiday. A very _long_ holiday."

Sasuke silently agreed, and knew they would have earned it. "You know we can't," he said out loud. "I'm sure things will calm down eventually. It's just an especially busy time of year." And despite the fact that Naruto had now been Hokage for more than a year- fourteen months, in fact- they were still very much in the transition phase.

"Well, I suppose we can't leave these guys by themselves anyway," Naruto said, smiling down at the remaining leeks with pride. "Don't worry kids, daddy's here."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that but let it pass, focusing on his own task instead. They were planting the broccoli and cauliflower saplings next, so he was digging out several long lines of trenches. The winter was mild this year, and they should do well. Never let it be said that he and Naruto did things halfway; their garden would be _huge_ by the time they were done. The benefit of finally having a real house, after so many years of sad little pots and planters on apartment balconies.

Yes, life was peaceful once more. If only Sasuke could stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about a tiny blonde-haired boy, or a dark-eyed girl. A _family_. No, it was a terrifying thought. Everything was fine just the way it was. Naruto was all that Sasuke needed.

"I never would have thought you'd want _quite_ so many kids," Sasuke commented to Naruto lightly, throwing him a smile to let him know he wasn't serious.

"Eh?" Naruto asked. "You mean my boys here? Aren't they stunning?"

"Quite a handful," Sasuke said to that.

"You have _four_ cats, Sasuke!" Naruto shot back, rolling his eyes. "And my children are much better behaved than yours!"

" _We_ have four cats," Sasuke corrected. " _We_." And two of them barely spent any time at the house- so really, what was Naruto complaining about? He'd started the whole thing all those years ago, when he'd surprised Sasuke with that little orange fur-ball on his birthday.

"And every single one of them blatantly prefers _you_ ," Naruto grumbled. "At least my plants love me."

Well, to be fair, Sasuke was the one who fed them, so what did Naruto expect? Still, Naruto had always been fonder of their plants than their cats. He took it with good humour each time Sasuke brought home a new one, and Sasuke loved him for it. Naruto could be very sweet sometimes- _most_ of the time, even.

"We'll give you a good feed today as well," Naruto sang to the leeks as he stood up and dusted the dirt off his pants. "Would you like that?"

Sasuke bit his lip and turned away. Naruto was just so cute. He had so much love to give, and gave it so freely- even to _leeks_. And sure, he may have been a handful in the past, but Sasuke had no doubt that he'd be an amazing father. …if he ever got the chance to be.

"Naruto," Sasuke called across the garden, keeping his tone as light as possible. "Just out of curiosity. What _were_ those crazy ideas that you were discussing with Sakura?"

"Hmm?" Naruto asked, glancing up at him. "With Sakura…? Oh! Oh, right, _those_ crazy ideas," Naruto said, a grin quickly taking over his already-sunny features.

"I'm going to regret asking this," Sasuke sighed to himself, returning to his task.

"Well!" Naruto exclaimed, tossing aside a handful of weeds and sitting back on his heels. "We had so many brilliant ideas, you'd be super impressed! But there was one plan in particular that Sakura feels sure would work. We even did tests, and she asked some people about it-"

"What people?" Sasuke interrupted, tensing at once. And _tests_? Just how far had those two gotten with their hair-brained scheme?! He narrowed his eyes. "Who did she ask about it?"

Naruto blinked, suddenly flustered. "Ahh, just, you know, people. People who know things about…stuff. And anyway-"

"Naruto!" Sasuke interrupted again. "She _didn't_ -"

"And _anyway_!" Naruto said, speaking over the top of him. "It turns out, my amazing _sexy-no-jutsu_ is even _more_ amazing than we thought. Did you know it _actually_ turns me into a girl, even on the _inside_?"

Sasuke's blood ran cold. That…no, he couldn't possibly mean- oh, _no_. No, no, _no_ , what a _horrifying_ thought, that was the worst idea he had ever heard in his _life_ -

"You can't be serious," he said to Naruto, his voice going flat in his shock. "You- you _moron_ -"

"It would work, Sasuke!" Naruto said with glee. "Heh, and we'd have a baby-"

"I think I'm going to be sick," Sasuke muttered, a wave a nausea overcoming him as images flashed through his mind; that abomination of his, that perky, bounding, _ridiculous_ creature his perverted jutsu had created- what on earth was he thinking, what was _Sakura_ thinking?! "You're- you're a _man_ , Naruto!"

Naruto burst out laughing, actually doubling over and almost falling to the ground. "Sasuke!" he gasped, "your face! Oh my god, _no_! I'm so sorry, I just couldn't _resist_!"

Sasuke's eyes opened wide. Was that all a _joke_? That idiot! "Naruto!" he scowled. "Then what did you _mean_?"

Naruto laughed again, taking in several deep breaths before he could speak. "Shit, Sasuke, I couldn't do that! No, I would combine it with one of my clone techniques. You _know_ how advanced they are as well. See? The _clone_ would carry the baby! It's genius!"

Sasuke froze. A- a clone? Well, that was insane. Yes, Naruto's bizarre abilities and his training over the years had resulted in a unique type of clone- he had never been satisfied with the old _kage-bunshin_. But still- it couldn't _possibly_ work.

…could it?

Sasuke turned away and retrieved his shovel from where it had fallen to the ground. "That's enough of that," he said gruffly. "Let's get back to work." He glanced at Naruto over his shoulder and found the blonde smiling back at him warmly. He sighed. Trust Sakura to indulge him. But at least Naruto wasn't pressing the point.

"Okay!" Naruto cheerfully agreed. "We'll grow tomatoes in summer. You'll like that won't you, Sasuke?"

"…yes," Sasuke mumbled, going back to digging the trench, glad the Naruto was in such an easy-going mood today.

They worked in silence, moving on to planting the broccoli saplings, moving down the trenches side-by side.

"Besides," Sasuke muttered under his breath. "As if I'd ever let one of _your_ clones carry _our_ baby."

Naruto smirked, flashing him a grin as he pressed a tiny plant into the dirt. "Oh, well, you _would_ say that-"

"It would be out of the question," Sasuke interrupted. "No, _I_ would have to do it. It would have to be _me_."

And at that moment their vegetable garden suffered its first causality, as an astonished Naruto slipped and crushed that poor little sapling right under his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

NSFW warning for some lazy Sunday afternoon sexy fun times, *ahem*. There will be a little bit of smut throughout this fic, but nothing too explicit.

* * *

Naruto's clones had always been different than other people's, and over the years he'd refined his techniques even further. His clones had a strange _physicality_. They were wildly impractical in some ways, since they required food and water and all that- but they were much sturdier than a standard _bunshin-no-jutsu_ clone. Combined with that bizarre perverted jutsu of his, the clone technique resulted in a _vessel-_ for lack of a better word- that both Naruto and Sakura were convinced would be capable of carrying a baby.

…they were both _insane_. Sasuke wasn't disputing that it would work: what did _he_ know about these things? It was just that who on earth would have even come up with this idea in the first place?

"Remarkable," Sakura commented, staring at the clone in front of her with amazed eyes. "Yes, this will do nicely."

"Mm," Sasuke replied gruffly, arms still folded over his chest.

"Of course, I'm not surprised that you mastered the technique so quickly," Sakura added with a cheeky grin. "You've maintained it for…how long now? A week? And no strain?"

"No strain," Sasuke confirmed. "And it's been nine days."

Nine days, and Sasuke barely noticed the extra pull on his chakra- the tiny bit of his energy being diverted into the clone. Sasuke had maintained clones continuously for much longer than this, and he was used to the strange sensation of being in two places at once; of being able to see through their eyes, feel what they touched. Naruto's clone techniques really _were_ remarkable, and had proved immensely useful over the years.

"I'm sure Naruto is thrilled," Sakura commented, motioning for the clone to lie down on the examination table. "And probably still in shock that you agreed to even _try_ his new jutsu."

Sasuke had mentioned it to him, of course, that he intended to maintain the clone for at least a week to see what would happen. And in the same breath, he'd given the blonde a dire warning not to get his hopes up. No-one had ever done anything like this before. This was all just a _test_.

Naruto had taken that well enough. Indeed he'd been far more upset that Sasuke had- once again- so quickly perfected a technique that had taken _him_ so long to learn.

"You know, everyone always said you'd be a stunning girl," Sakura giggled to herself, as she set to work examining the clone. "They were right! Naruto told me how gorgeous she was. I think he's quite taken with her."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that. The clone barely looked any different than a male one- barely any different than _him_. A slightly lighter build, perhaps. And Sasuke's hair had already gotten pretty long these past few years, so not even _that_ was different. As for the clone's, well, _female assets_ , they were subtle, and all but hidden under the baggy outfit Sasuke had it wearing.

…still. Naruto's reaction to it had further strengthened his resolve to keep the thing out of sight for the whole nine months. If it worked.

"So everything's okay with it?" Sasuke asked, gazing at his female self on the table.

"Seems to be," Sakura said. "Are you able to modify her in any way, or is this the easiest form for you to maintain?"

"Modify it how?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Wider hips," Sakura said matter-of-factly, looking down at the clone critically.

Well, that did it. He'd been doing so well at holding himself together, and then-

All the blood drained from Sasuke's face and he swayed, falling down to the chair behind him. "Oh, god," he groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing over to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke replied, taking a deep breath. _Don't be so dramatic_ , he told himself sternly. "It all just seemed- so _real_ , for a moment." And it had been _terrifying_.

"It _is_ real," Sakura said quietly, her voice calm. She pulled a chair across the floor and sat down in front of him. "This could really work, Sasuke. So…you have to be _ready_ , before we do anything. Are we moving too fast? You have to tell me."

Sasuke shrugged. For this whole week and a half he'd had the clone stashed away in the spare room upstairs, he had done his utmost not to think about it at all. "No, it's not too fast," he said. "And it probably wouldn't work the first time anyway, right? Or at all."

"Well, maybe not," Sakura confirmed, biting her lip and sighing. "Look, Sasuke, I'm really sorry. Doing all those tests with Naruto…it wasn't my place, it wasn't right. I let my curiosity get the better of me."

Sasuke nodded, accepting her apology without comment. "You're a medic-nin," he said, brushing it all off. "And Naruto's techniques are…interesting." Sakura wouldn't have been able to resist.

"They sure are," Sakura said dryly. "The thing is, back when you first started talking about kids, you wanted to _adopt_ , didn't you? This is- this is _very_ different. The baby would be…half-Uchiha."

Sasuke fell silent. Well, there it was, all out in the open. Sakura understood exactly. Sasuke wasn't sure if it had occurred to Naruto yet, or if he'd thought about it at all. Would he understand, why Sasuke might feel uneasy about that?

"When you first came back to Konoha after the war, you were so…anti-Uchiha," Sakura went on. "And…you've never worn the symbols, you've never…I mean, you're an _Uzumaki_ now, legally! Sasuke, are you really okay with this all?"

He'd thought about it. He'd thought about it a _lot_. Sakura was right; for a long time, years and years, just thinking about his old clan had filled Sasuke with such anxiety that he couldn't _breathe_. Naruto had helped, had been gentle with him, patient.

Things had gotten better. And eventually, they'd even built their new house on the old Uchiha lands; the place was virtually unrecognizable now, but it was still where Sasuke had been born.

"I'm…fine with it," Sasuke said, his voice low, but firm. "It's not like we're rebuilding the Uchiha clan or anything like that," he added, with a wry smile to show Sakura that he was truly okay. "And it would be an _Uzumaki_ , anyway."

And the Uzumaki genes would be its cure. Sasuke would never have considered having kids with anyone but Naruto. But this baby- if it ever came about- would be _fine_ ; how could it not be, with Naruto for a parent?

"Alright, then," Sakura said with a nod. "In that case, we can take the next step when the clone is ready. You know what I mean by that?"

Sasuke scowled. "Of course," he said. He knew all about that…stuff.

Sakura looked doubtful. "I'll give you some books to read anyway," she said. "And make Naruto read them too, okay? I'll give the clone a more thorough exam now. Do you want to stay?"

He paled. No, he really _didn't_ want to stay. He shook his head and stood, preparing to leave. "No, I need to get back to work. It'll just walk home once you're done." It was bad enough he had to see and feel that stuff through his link with the clone; he didn't want to see it with his own eyes as _well_.

"You'll have to learn to cut off the link, Sasuke," Sakura teased, moving over to the table. "Have Naruto teach you how to set up a barrier. You don't want to spend the whole nine months as both a man _and_ a pregnant woman, do you?"

The clone wouldn't be a _pregnant woman_ \- it would be a _vessel_ \- but yes, he saw her point. "I will, then," he murmured. "I'll see you later."

She nodded and he left the room, heading back to the tower.

* * *

 _Just stop thinking about it,_ he said to himself as he tried to concentrate on his work. They were very busy at the moment preparing for the next chuunin exams. Sasuke welcomed the distraction: at least he _would_ have, if his mind was willing to be distracted.

"Pass me that pile there, Yuki," Sasuke said to his assistant. "And all those have been checked as well, haven't they?" he added, indicating a huge pile of paperwork on her desk.

"Yes, we did those last month after their wilderness test," Yuki said to that, showing him a checklist of names. These days genin had to pass a whole lot of tests and meet many requirements before they could even apply to take the chuunin exam. It was quite a task keeping track of it all, but Sasuke's team was more than capable. He'd trained most of them himself, including young Yuki here.

"Ah, Sasuke!" came Naruto's voice, peering in through the door and grinning at them both. "You're back! How'd it go?"

"It went _fine_ ," Sasuke said with a warning in his voice as he paused in his task. He had told Naruto repeatedly not to get his hopes up about this appointment with Sakura. It was one step at a time. "Don't you have a meeting? He does, doesn't he?" he directed at Yuki.

"Yes," Yuki confirmed. "With the Iwagakure ambassador."

"We're on a break," Naruto whined at that. "And it's taking forever to get _anything_ decided, I just-"

"Hokage-sama," came Shikamaru's voice from down the hall, and Naruto flinched. "We're ready to resume, if you wouldn't mind…?"

Sasuke smirked at the edge to Shikamaru's voice and Naruto's reaction to it. "You better get going or he'll flay you alive," he said.

"Mm, true," Naruto said to that. "Let's just have dinner in the cafeteria, okay? It might be a late night. I'll find you when we're done here."

"Okay," Sasuke agreed, turning back to his work; and then his eyes opened wide when Naruto appeared right beside him and placed a kiss on his cheek. " _Naruto_!"

"What?" Naruto said to that, giving him an innocent look.

"Not in my office!" he hissed, shooting Naruto a look. How many times had he told him this?! His poor staff had enough to deal with, without seeing any of _that_. "Honestly!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Naruto teased, leaning over and kissing him again. "Ah, that was an apology!" he cried as he stepped away out of range. He disappeared within seconds.

Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh. Boundaries- it was all about boundaries. And unfortunately, Naruto didn't have any. "Sorry, Yuki," he said to the poor blushing girl, focusing intently on her pile of papers in the corner. Honestly, that man…!

* * *

Naruto had being giggly and ecstatic the day he had his own appointment with Sakura. _I know it's gonna work!_ he'd said to Sasuke, over and over again _. Yes, the first time. Beginner's luck, see?_ Sasuke had generously allowed him a few hours to be excited, before calmly but firmly reminding him of their agreement.

This was all just a test. There was no guarantee at all that it would be successful, and even if it was, it wouldn't be a _baby_ inside the clone. It would be a- a _foetus_. A collection of cells. _For how long?_ Naruto had asked him, the first time Sasuke had said all this.

He didn't know. But this all seemed so _risky_ to him. It had never been done before, as far as Sakura was aware. She'd found a few interesting references in some obscure medical texts that had her _very_ curious, but essentially, this jutsu that Naruto had developed was unique.

So naturally, neither of them could afford to get emotionally invested. They had to be responsible here; they had to be _calm_. They had to be ready for this all to ultimately be a failure.

* * *

"I'm thinking of learning my dad's teleportation technique," Naruto announced late one Sunday afternoon as they lay in bed, snuggled up in the blankets, limbs tangled together.

Sasuke groaned, his happy, fulfilled mood broken at once. Not _this_ again! They were still sticky and sweaty and Sasuke had just been thinking that a second round might be nice and then Naruto had to say- that!

"You can't be serious," he growled to Naruto. "This would be the millionth time you've tried!"

"Don't be silly," Naruto said to that, ticking his cheek. "The _millionth_ time? Honestly, Sasuke!"

"Look, I know you value persistence," Sasuke went on, ducking his head down and out of reach, "but you should just accept it already! Some people just aren't _meant_ to learn certain techniques." And Minato Namikaze's _hiraishin-no-jutsu_ was definitely one of those!

Naruto's face fell. "But Sasuke!" he cried, pushing himself up onto his arms and throwing him a sulky frown. "I _have_ to learn it- it's my destiny! My _legacy_!"

Sasuke scoffed. "It is not," he shot, falling back on his pillows. Naruto had tried and tried, and had barely any success each time.

"It _is_!" Naruto maintained. "My father's legacy. A grand tradition, handed down from parent to child-"

"Ah, so his father could do it too, hey?" Sasuke interrupted. "Or his mother?"

Naruto frowned. "Um, well, I don't know about that," he admitted, lying back down, looking crestfallen. "Actually…dad might have been the first in our family."

"Exactly," Sasuke smirked. He reached over and tugged Naruto to his side, circling his arms around Naruto's waist.

"But…but his _legacy_ ," Naruto whined, resting his cheek on Sasuke's chest, pressing a quick kiss to his skin.

"Kyuubi is your legacy," Sasuke said. "And so is being Hokage. I think your parents would be more than happy with how you've handled both."

"I want to learn it," Naruto pouted. Of course he did; he always wanted to learn new things.

"And what makes you think this time would be any different? Why will you succeed _now_ , when you've failed so many times in the past?" Sasuke didn't feel good about saying any of that- Naruto had tried very hard, after all, and he usually got what he wanted after that much persistence. Failure was _not_ in his vocabulary.

But someone had to be the realist in this relationship. The weeks and weeks- months, really, if you added it all up- that Naruto had spent on this technique had just been a massive waste of time. Naruto was Hokage now. He couldn't afford to go after new jutsus like he had when he was young and free.

"Because," Naruto said to that, a smile suddenly blooming and taking over his face. "This time, _you're_ going to help me!"

"…no," Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes, his suspicions confirmed. "I refuse. Give me one good reason-"

"If we're going to have a family, don't you want them to be _safe_?" Naruto asked. "I could teleport right to their side at the first hint of trouble!"

"Naruto!" Sasuke scowled. "It's been less than a _week_! This has very little chance of working-"

"-oh, I know," Naruto interrupted, waving him off. "This time might not work, or the time after that. Or maybe it _will_ work. Who knows? But one day, we'll have a family, and I want to be ready for when that time comes!"

Sasuke fell silent. It was a low move using that sort of logic to win this argument. Even lower because he was _right_ : of _course_ it would be a useful technique in an emergency. And any kid of _theirs_ would surely face a whole range of challenges, and-

He shivered. Oh, he just couldn't think about this! Maybe he _would_ help Naruto, just as something to do in the next few weeks, to take his mind off it all.

…but for now, they needed a much more _immediate_ distraction. Why waste their very limited time alone together with such awful thoughts? Of trouble, of _emergencies_ , of Naruto needing to be there right away-

"Let's not talk about that anymore," he purred, slipping a hand under the blankets and between their tangled bodies, tracing down Naruto's stomach to rest between his thighs. "I can think of things I'd _much_ rather be doing right now."

"Mm, like having a nap?" Naruto said with a yawn. "Yes, that sounds- _ah!_ Sa- _Sasuke_!" he shrieked as Sasuke circled his hand around Naruto's length without warning.

"Yes?" Sasuke said back, flashing his eyes at Naruto as innocently as he could. "You're not that tired are you? _Too_ tired?"

Sasuke ran his hand gently up and down, soft, easy; and still he drew a groan from Naruto, who was _very_ quickly responding under Sasuke's touch. Yes, that was his man- whining to panting in ten seconds flat.

Naruto's skin blushed a deep, scarlet red. "Oh, I- _mm_ , that's- well _no_ , I guess we could…" his words trailed off, quickly subsumed by a low cry of pleasure.

"Don't worry," Sasuke said, slipping out from under Naruto's chest and manoeuvring him onto his back. "I'd be _more_ than happy to do all the work," he added, seating himself on Naruto's hips, wriggling around until he was satisfied.

"I know you would be," Naruto gasped as Sasuke rolled downwards. He reached out to take hold of Sasuke's hips, his fingers dancing over the bare skin of his stomach and then trailing down his thighs and back again.

"And I'm even all ready to go," Sasuke went on, leaning forward to press his mouth against Naruto's, sucking on his bottom lip, biting down with his teeth. The second round always took so much less work than the first.

 _And I can't resist him when he's like this_ , Sasuke thought to himself, pulling back and gazing down at his man underneath him. He was still the most beautiful creature Sasuke had ever seen.

Sasuke bit his lip and circled his hips over Naruto's middle, feeling a liquid heat start to pool in his stomach. He did this once, twice, and felt himself starting to burn in response to the sensation of Naruto hard and firm beneath him, pressing up against his entrance.

"Sasuke…" Naruto groaned, reaching up to curl his fingers around Sasuke's jaw, arching his back ever so slightly in response to Sasuke's movements. "If you keep looking at me like that- ugh, if you keep _moving_ like that- I won't last long at all…"

"Oh, well," Sasuke murmured, reaching a hand behind him, guiding Naruto's length into place. "In that case, we'd best get on with it then, hmm?" He stifled a moan as he lifted his hips and then brought them back down, feeling Naruto slide all the way into him.

Naruto tightened his hold around Sasuke's waist, held him still. " _Hah_ , Sasuke, give me a moment, _mm_ …" Once Sasuke stilled Naruto trailed his fingers across his stomach, up his chest, back down, smiling when Sasuke shivered under his touch. "Pass me some of that," Naruto said, nodding to the small tube next to them on the bed.

Once his hands were nice and slippery he brought them in between Sasuke's legs, running up and down his length with an abruptly fast pace that soon had Sasuke gasping.

" _Naruto_!" he cried, pushing forward further into Naruto's hands, his breath quickening at once. " _Ohh_ , that's too- _mm_ , be _gentle_ , Naruto, I-"

"Move for me, Sasuke," Naruto panted, his chest heaving under Sasuke's body. " _Yes_ , Sas, just like that-" he went on, when Sasuke resumed his movements up and down, pushing up on his thighs and coming back to rest.

He circled his hips and drew another deep-throated moan from Naruto, and he started moving faster, heat spiking through his blood and urging him on. "Like- like _this_?" Sasuke panted back, losing some of his rhythm in the face of the pure need coursing through him. No, he wasn't going to last long either, not with Naruto's hands on him like that, running all the way up him, running his thumb over the top of his length, moving back down. He-

"- _just_ like that," Naruto repeated, "god, Sasuke, you're _perfect_ , ohh, _yes_ ," he hissed, his eyes fluttering closed, his spine arching up off the bed and pushing harder into Sasuke. They moved together, their panting and gasps filling Sasuke's ears, until the rest of the world faded away and it was just him and Naruto, together and happy, with nothing to worry about at all.

"Na- _Naruto_ ," Sasuke stammered, his thrusts downwards becoming erratic and uneven, his breath catching in his throat, "are you-" And then his words abandoned him as the hand on his length tightened and Sasuke froze, his body jolting backward and flooding with sharp pleasure.

And then he was aware of nothing else but Naruto underneath him, joined with him, moaning and gripping his hips hard. " _Mm_ , yes, Sasuke, _yes_ ," Naruto cried out, bucking upwards and holding Sasuke in place, breathing hard, his eyes burning.

Sasuke whimpered and fall forwards, letting Naruto catch him neatly and guide him down to the bed. Sasuke curled against him, finding his mouth and once and kissing him hard, breathing heavily

…oh, surely that was a _much_ better way to spend an afternoon than wasting more time on that ridiculous jutsu! _Even though I know he won't give up_ , Sasuke told himself grimly, even as Naruto snuggled back against him, wrapping his arms around his waist. _Well, this is_ _ **Naruto**_ _, after all._

No, Naruto never did give up. He sighed softly, feeling all his energy slip away as he melted against Naruto's side. Looks like they'd be getting that nap Naruto wanted after all. _And then I'm guessing I have some jutsu scrolls to examine_ , Sasuke thought as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A month went by. Sasuke had never had to work quite so hard to keep himself and Naruto distracted. It was one thing to decide that they wanted a family- it was another to have to wait for it. And so they filled their days with work and training, and time trickled slowly by.

Until finally one evening in early spring came the news they'd been waiting for.

Naruto and Sasuke were leaving the tower and headed home after a very long day. "I'm _starving_ ," Sasuke muttered under his breath, supressing a yawn. "Let's just get ramen on the way home…"

"Ohh, really?" Naruto said back, sending Sasuke a jubilant smile. "And some gyoza and fried rice maybe…oh look, it's Sakura-chan," he added, as they walked through the front door. He grinned and waved brightly.

"Are you waiting for us?" Sasuke asked her once they'd exited the building. A tremor of nerves ran through him, which he quickly suppressed. _It didn't work,_ he thought. _We'll have to try again, and wait another month._

"I am," Sasuke said with a nod, her face calm and controlled- doctor mode. But then she grinned and her green eyes lit up, sparkling bright and radiant. "I have some really, really good news."

* * *

A/N: A word re: Naruto's clone technique- in my mind he's always been working on his clones, altering them to be much more useful, to be able to stick around longer and with slightly more independence than a standard clone. Until eventually, the technique he's using isn't bunshin-no-jutsu or kage-bunshin anymore, it's a brand new one. Naturally he names it after himself, Naruto-no-bunshin. Combine that with his sexy-no-jutsu and you get…sexy-Naruto-no-jutsu, *cough*. (Naruto did suggest that when Sasuke uses the technique it should be sexy-Sasuke-no-jutsu, but Sas did NOT respond well to that, ahaha.)

Anyway, there's a limit to just how seriously we can take all of this…we ARE dealing with a fictional world, after all! But I'll admit I did have fun thinking of ways to make this work, ehehe.

Thanks for everyone's lovely feedback so far, I definitely feel less nervous now about sharing this new story with you all!


	4. Chapter 4

It was their usual nightly routine. Sasuke washed the dishes while Naruto potted around, doing whatever else needed to be done- in this case, sweeping and mopping the floor. He was humming some inane song under his breath as he did so, and even after so long together, Sasuke still found this just as annoying as it was endearing. Naruto was incapable of being quiet for longer than five minutes. Honestly, Sasuke would have been happy to just clean in peace. The sacrifices he made for this gorgeous, beautiful man of his!

He finished stacking the dishes in the drainer and blew a soft gust of hot air over them- a modified version of his _katon_ that made housework a _lot_ easier. Naruto stopped humming and gasped, and Sasuke could feel the glare burning into his back.

"Cheater," Naruto muttered.

"I've offered to teach you _so_ many times," Sasuke said to that, turning around and grinning. He moved away from the sink, deciding he'd put the dishes away tomorrow. For now he wanted…something _else_. "Are you done with the floor?" he asked Naruto, leaning up against the wall near him.

"Yeah, it's clean enough," Naruto replied with a sigh, pushing the mop to one side. "I _still_ say we should get a cleaner. Think of all the time we'd save!"

Sasuke grinned again. "And _I_ say that I don't want some stranger in our house. What if they- caught us?" he purred, reaching out to grab Naruto's shirt and pulling him closer, running his hands down his sides.

Naruto blinked, eyes wide in surprise at Sasuke's sudden movements. " _Caught_ us?" he asked. "Caught us how? You- _oh_!" he exclaimed, his face turning pink when he realised what Sasuke had meant.

"Oh," Sasuke repeated, drawing him closer still, his grin turning into a smirk.

"Silly boy," Naruto chuckled, moving his hands to Sasuke's hips, caressing him through the fabric of his shirt. Yes, there it was: his dead-last could go from _pouting_ to _ready to go_ in five seconds flat.

"Privacy is important, you know," Sasuke went on, circling his arms around Naruto's waist, running his hands down the back of his thighs and sighing happily. Oh yes, even after more than eight years, he'd _never_ get sick of this.

"Mm, well, you might have a point there," Naruto cooed, leaning down and nipping at Sasuke's throat, just softly, then pressing his tongue into his skin.

Sasuke moaned softly as Naruto made his way further down his throat, nipping and licking as he went and slipping his hands up under Sasuke's shirt. "Wouldn't want any interruptions," he gasped, when Naruto manoeuvred a knee between his legs.

"No, we wouldn't want that," Naruto agreed with a deep-throated purr, biting down harder on his throat and drawing a gasp from Sasuke. In response Sasuke ran his hands back up Naruto's thighs to tug at the top of his pants, hoping to rid him of the troublesome things- they were in the way.

"Naruto…" Sasuke breathed, arching his back and pressing forward. His hips started moving of their own accord against Naruto's knee between his thighs.

"Oh hey, Sasuke!" Naruto said abruptly, pulling his mouth away from Sasuke's skin and gazing at him in concern. "Are you feeling alright? I almost forgot to ask!"

Sasuke moved forward as Naruto pulled back, confused at the sudden loss. "What do you mean?" he asked, dazed. "I'm fine, why?" And why now?! They were having such a nice time…

"Ah, well!" Naruto replied, looking flustered. "It's just that I was reading that book that Sakura-chan gave us at work today, and I-"

"You were meant to me approving mission assignments!" Sasuke scolded instantly, all while still trying to drag Naruto back against him.

"I'd already finished them, I swear," Naruto quickly responded. "But the book said that you could feel _awful_ in the first few months of pregnancy-"

"Naruto!" Sasuke shrieked. "I am _not_ -"

"You kind-of _are_ , Sas," Naruto said back with a grin. "And I was just wondering if everything was okay."

"The _clone_ is feeling just fine," Sasuke said with an annoyed growl, tugging at Naruto's shirt, keen to get it off him and resume their activities. "Sakura's keeping a close eye on it. And besides, even if it _was_ feeling unwell, _I_ would still be alright!"

"You'd still be able to _feel_ it, though," Naruto said, helpfully twisting sideways and letting Sasuke pull his shirt over his head. "I know what those clones are like. Uh- I've not been through _this_ exactly, but-"

"I don't want to talk about this right now," Sasuke said impatiently, shedding his own shirt as well, pleased when Naruto _finally_ pressed back against him, skin to skin.

Naruto smirked at him, kissing the tip of his nose and nuzzling into him. "Right, I get it. You wanna go to bed and… _snuggle_."

Sasuke scoffed. There'd better be a lot more than _snuggling_. "Yes, snuggle," he said, rolling his eyes. He shifted forward, angling to one side so he could kiss Naruto properly, running his tongue along Naruto's bottom lip, slipping into his mouth.

"Mm, okay," Naruto agreed, "as long as you're feeling okay!" And when Sasuke nodded curtly, he slid his hands down Sasuke's spine to grip the back of his thighs tight, lifting him clean off the floor and throwing him over his shoulder.

" _Naruto_!" Sasuke shrieked at once, kicking his legs out and pushing Naruto's shoulders with his arms. How _mortifying_!

"Ah, so impatient," Naruto chuckled, moving off towards their bedroom with the squirming Sasuke in his arms. "Don't worry kitten, we're almost there!"

And despite how indignant Sasuke was at this treatment, he eventually got his _snuggling_ and _a lot more_. Later that night they lay together in bed, Sasuke propped on Naruto's heaving chest, both breathing hard.

"That was _nice_ ," Sasuke panted, perfectly satisfied and pleasantly worn-out, trailing his fingers over all the fine scratches and teeth-marks Sasuke had etched into Naruto's skin. They'd be gone soon- better enjoy the evidence while he could.

"It was _very_ nice," Naruto agreed with a cheeky grin, twisting a lock of Sasuke's wild hair around his own fingers. "And- and you're _sure_ you're alright?" he asked again, that same look of concern taking over his grin.

Sasuke scowled. Not that again! "I'm fine," he repeated. "You've just got to trust me on this one. Everything's _fine_."

"Hmm, that's pretty lucky," Naruto remarked. "Honestly, the list of symptoms in this book made me thank my lucky stars that it's _you_ doing this and not me. …um, is that really bad?!" he asked, flushing bright red.

"Yes, that's really bad," Sasuke confirmed, nipping his cheek before snuggling down under the sheets and preparing to go to sleep. "But I forgive you. And everything's fine, like I said," he repeated.

But unfortunately, by the very next morning things had changed- and were no longer _fine_.

* * *

Sasuke woke as usual about ten minutes before his alarm. He pushed himself up, swinging his legs out of bed, thinking about what to make for breakfast today- and that's when the wave of nausea hit him. Sasuke froze, startled, and was just about to stagger into the bathroom- was he sick? Had he eaten something bad?- when it realised what was happening. It wasn't _him_ who was sick- it was the _clone._

 _Right, okay then,_ Sasuke muttered to himself, doubling over, breathing through the nausea. _I guess we had to deal with morning sickness eventually._

He knew it wasn't real, and that he himself wouldn't throw up- but the clone sure was. Sasuke sat there for a very uncomfortable five minutes, while upstairs the clone's body heaved as it puked its guts out into the bathroom sink.

It was the strangest sensation he had ever experienced. Sasuke could _feel_ the strain on his spine, the stabbing in his stomach, the burning in his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut when all of a sudden the sensation of being in two places at once became too much. But finally, thankfully, the nausea eased. The clone stepped back and sunk to the floor, weary and trembling, and Sasuke sat up straighter on the side of the bed and took up a deep breath.

It had been six weeks, and this was the first real sign that the clone was _pregnant_. Sasuke felt deeply uneasy that this had happened the very morning after Naruto had made such a big deal out of how awful he should be feeling right now. And if this continued…well, it would be a lot harder to ignore the whole thing like he'd been trying to.

There was movement from the door and Ginger the cat slipped into the room, slinking over to Sasuke and rubbing up against his legs with a soft _meow_. Sasuke leant down and gently scratched behind her ears. He would have liked to believe that she was concerned about him- and she very well may have been- but she was probably _more_ concerned about why her breakfast was five minutes late.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming," Sasuke murmured to the dear fluffy thing when she meowed another complaint. "Let's go." He glanced over at Naruto, who was still fast asleep. Sasuke always woke first and made them breakfast on weekdays, and in exchange slept for as long as he liked undisturbed on the weekends.

Sasuke made his way to the kitchen on unsteady legs and greeted Ao, who sat waiting patiently by her dish on the floor. He spooned an extra-generous serve of cat-food into two of the four bowls. Midori and Mr. Socks (yes, Naruto had named him) spent most of their time away from the house, roaming wild through the Uchiha woodland.

"Well, guys. We might be in for a bumpy ride," he commented to the cats, squatting down by their side. Ao glanced up at him with her lovely blue eyes and mewled. "Thank you," Sasuke responded gravely.

It wasn't the nicest way to begin the morning, and it had put him a low, dark mood. Sasuke wondered if he should mention it to Naruto- but oh, he'd just worry. So Sasuke tried to put the whole thing out of his mind, and quickly set to work putting together their breakfast.

"'morning, Sas," Naruto murmured ten minutes later, coming up behind him and dropping a kiss to his bare shoulder. "Oh, what's that?" he asked, sniffing the air. They usually had green tea with breakfast, but Sasuke needed something else today- two pots of it.

"Lemon and ginger," Sasuke explained, turning around and pecking Naruto's cheek before moving to the table. He left one pot of tea there, and headed for the stairs with the other.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called, confused. "What are you doing?"

"Taking this to the clone," Sasuke called back as he disappeared up the stairs. And it seemed it would be very necessary. The poor clone was looking shaky and pale- just how Sasuke felt on the inside. Sasuke ran a bath and left the tea on the counter as well.

"Something wrong?" Naruto asked, the second Sasuke returned to the kitchen. He'd poured them both some tea and laid their breakfast on the table.

"Not particularly," Sasuke replied, sitting down and taking hold of his cup gratefully. "I just thought the clone might like some variety."

"Can't we come up with a better name?" Naruto said with a frown. "We can't spend the whole time saying _the clone_ , can we? It's so…cold."

"I don't think it matters if it's _cold_ ," Sasuke said to that. "It's…it's just an extension of _me_ , Naruto. You can't think of it as a person."

"You're the one who just took her tea," Naruto mumbled under his breath.

Sasuke sighed. "There's no harm in that." The clone was perfectly fine subsisting on soldier pills and water, as well as the vitamins Sakura had it taking. Sasuke just felt the need for more this morning.

"I wish you'd let me see her," Naruto went on with a frown.

"There's no need," Sasuke quickly said back. Naruto had seen it occasionally, of course; they shared a house, after all, and it's not like he was hiding it. The clone took long walks through the woods every day to stay in good shape, and of course went to and from the hospital to see Sakura.

Naruto's frown turned into a pout. "I know, you think it's weird, and that I'll get- I don't know, attached or something," Naruto went on. "But the _baby_ -"

Sasuke stood and pushed his chair back abruptly. He was still feeling mildly nauseous and was _not_ in the mood for this argument today. "It's not a baby," he shot, grabbing his cup of tea and walking away from the kitchen.

"Sasuke, your breakfast!" Naruto called.

"I'm not hungry," Sasuke muttered, knowing Naruto wouldn't hear him.

No, this was _not_ a good way to start the morning.

* * *

It seemed that after six weeks of absolutely no symptoms of pregnancy whatsoever, morning sickness was hitting them with a _vengeance_. And despite the name, it wasn't just in the morning, either- it was the whole damn day, from the moment Sasuke and the clone woke, to the moment they went to sleep.

Sasuke managed to keep it from Naruto for exactly 24 hours. The next morning the alarm went off while Sasuke was still trembling on the side of the bed. Of course Naruto had panicked until Sasuke had assured him it was nothing.

"It just feels _wrong_ ," Sasuke groaned to Naruto. "How can I be feeling this sick? It's not _me_!"

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke," Naruto said, rubbing soothing circles into his back, petting his hair. "It _is_ you, though. Like you said yesterday- she's an extension of yourself, not a separate person."

Sasuke whimpered. "That's not helping," he whined, clutching his stomach.

"I'll make you some tea," Naruto said, jumping straight up.

"And feed the cats!" Sasuke called out the door, and winced when the thought of cat-food made him feel worse.

The pattern repeated for the rest of the week. Sasuke was distracted and irritable at work, sipping on tea the whole day long. And all of a sudden he was so _tired_ , dragging his feet through the halls of the tower, snapping at his staff. Eventually he gave in and called on Sakura, begging for help.

"Give her these ones in the morning," Sakura instructed, placing a packet of pills on the kitchen table. She'd stopped by on her way home from work. "And these ones at night."

"How long will it last for?" Sasuke asked with a tense frown, taking some of the night-time tablets and setting them aside. Surely it wasn't healthy, throwing up that much every day.

"Hopefully not too long," Sakura said to that. "We're almost at the two-month mark. Everything will feel completely different after _three_ months, but ideally you'll get relief before then."

"Ideally," Sasuke muttered. Things damn well _better_ have improved by then.

"And she's in good shape, apart from that. You don't need to worry about the morning sickness interfering with that."

Sasuke twitched. Despite Sakura's words, he was worried. Naruto's clone technique resulted in _very_ sturdy clones; they couldn't be gotten rid of easily. They would stick around until they were dispelled- in theory. But who knew? And that would be _disastrous_. This whole thing was just too risky, and it was eating away at his nerves.

"If you say so," Sasuke said doubtfully.

"You'll have your two-month ultrasound soon, too," Sakura went on. "You'll be able to actually _see_ the baby."

"The foetus, not baby," Sasuke corrected.

"We'll be able to _see_ it?!" came Naruto's voice as he emerged from the bedroom, his hair dripping wet from his shower. " _Really_?" His face lit up, his bright blue eyes sparkling, and Sasuke winced. He'd hoped Sakura would be gone before he appeared.

" _You_ won't see it," Sasuke said. " _I_ wasn't even planning to go." There was nothing to see, really. As long as the doctors checked that everything was proceeding as normal, what did it matter to Sasuke?

" _What?_ " Naruto exclaimed, starting to whine at once. "Why _not_? I wanna see the baby!"

"The _foetus_ ," Sasuke corrected again, frowning over at him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried. "Don't talk about little Ichi like that!"

"Ichi?" Sakura asked with a frown of her own, looking thoroughly confused.

"The _baby_ ," Naruto sulked. "We're one month pregnant so it's _Ichi_. And I want to see it!"

Sasuke sighed. "Naruto, you promised you wouldn't get attached."

"I can't help it!" Naruto shot back, stamping his foot and whipping around, heading back to the bedroom. "I'm not like you, Sasuke. What do you expect me to do?!"

Sasuke flinched and watched him leave. And he'd thought everything was okay. Sakura had given them the news exactly three weeks ago, and Naruto had been- fine. He hadn't asked to see the clone. He'd only mentioned it that one time, that night in the kitchen. But evidently, Naruto had been thinking about it a lot more than he let on.

"You weren't planning on coming to the ultrasound?" Sakura asked him, her surprised voice dragging Sasuke's attention back to the present. "Really? Don't you want to see it?"

"What's to see?" Sasuke said to that. "I meant it, Sakura. It's not a _baby_. Not yet."

"And when would it become a baby?" Sakura asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"You won't be too hard on him will you? He's such an emotional person," Sakura murmured. "And obviously you didn't know about the cutesy nicknames."

 _Cutesy_? Sasuke wasn't sure there was anything _cute_ about it. "I'll make it up to him," Sasuke promised. His blonde was a little _too_ emotional at times, and too willing to show said emotions.

"I'll leave you to it, then," she said, getting to her feet. "Make sure you keep her hydrated, okay? Lots of fluids. You'll feel better for it as well."

He nodded. And then he sat there at the table for several minutes calming his nerves before heading into the bedroom.

"Naruto," he called softly, stumbling through the pitch-black room to the bed and switching on a lamp. "I'm sorry, that was harsh of me."

"It _was_ ," Naruto grumbled, rolling over to face away from him the very instant light illuminated the room.

"You're lying in bed with soaking-wet hair," Sasuke scolded gently. "Come into the bathroom and let me dry it," he suggested, reaching out to pet Naruto's shoulder.

"I want to _see_ it," Naruto whined.

Sasuke bit his lip. "I don't think it's a good idea," he said. "This could all go wrong in an instant. We have to stay detached."

"I _can't!_ You expect too much of me, Sasuke, you know you do!"

Sasuke pulled at him until he rolled over and sat up. "Bathroom, now," he prodded, sliding off the bed and tugging Naruto after him. "Truce, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Naruto sulked, following after him reluctantly and then leaning down to let Sasuke towel-dry his hair.

They stayed silent while Sasuke pulled out the hair-dryer to finish the job. Sasuke _had_ been very harsh, but someone had to be the responsible one here. He ran his fingers through Naruto's blonde locks, feeling a wave of affection for his too-emotional man. He understood, really he did, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with.

Sasuke put down the hair-dyer and wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist, resting his head on Naruto's back. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm just tired, okay?" he added, gazing over Naruto's shoulder and locking eyes with him in the mirror.

Naruto turned his head to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "I'll forgive you, if you agree to come to the ultrasound with me. I've decided I'm going anyway, with or without you."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. He should have seen that one coming. And really, he had no right to keep Naruto away. If he wanted to go, he should go. "I'll think about it," he said. "And…I don't mind if you keep calling it that. _Ichi._ It's better than _the foetus_ , anyway."

Naruto grinned, and just like that the tension evaporated away. "Deal," he said. "It'll be _Ni,_ soon."

He had to bite back a smile at that. Nine months they had to get to- but they were almost two months down. Slow but steady, and progress was progress.

"And at least it's the weekend now," Sasuke added. "I'm going to sleep for two days straight."

"That sounds great. I'll join you," Naruto said to that, spinning around in Sasuke's arms.

* * *

One week later he and Naruto stood side by side in the examination room, watching Sakura and their obstetrician begin the ultrasound.

"Now, it's not going to look like a _baby_ , you get that right?" Sakura said to them. "It'll look more like a bean than anything else."

"Sure, Sakura-chan," Naruto said cheerfully. "I looked at all the pictures in the book you gave us."

"It's starting," Sasuke mumbled, his eyes glued to the little screen in the corner of the room, his pulse quickening.

"We'll just have a quick check around first," Dr. Sato the obstetrician said, moving away from them to get a better view. "And then- ah, there it is!"

"I can't see anything," Naruto gasped, stepping forward and squinting. "Where is it?!"

"It's here," Sakura said, laying a finger on the screen and outlining a little smudge- what was really just a patch of lighter grey against a fuzzy background. "See? The bean."

"That's a baby?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That's our little Ni," Sasuke murmured, feeling unexpectedly lightheaded. And all of a sudden he _knew_. No, it had never been just a _foetus_ to Sasuke. It had been a baby the whole time, right from the start. It was _their_ baby, his and Naruto's…and he was terrified that he would lose it at any moment.

* * *

 ** _Bonus:_** **A Handy Guide to Crazy-Cat-Lady!Sasuke's Precious Felines**

 **Ginger** \- the first. Naruto gave her to Sas as a little furry kitten for his birthday about six years ago. She rules the house with her fuzzy paws. It took her a long time to accept that Naruto was just as important to her precious human as SHE was. She has long bright orange fur and grey eyes.

 **Ao** \- the second. She's a skinny, sleek calico with lovely blue eyes. Juugo rescued her from a bad home and asked Sas to help with her rehabilitation. She's been living with them ever since. Ao is shy and even now is a little skittish. When she's especially scared she tends to run to Naruto for comfort.

 **Midori** and **Mr. Socks** \- third and fourth. Jet-black, sleek fur; Midori has green eyes and Mr. Socks has grey ones. Obviously Mr. Socks has little white patches on his front feet as well. Naruto begged and begged to be allowed to name just ONE of their cats. Sas reluctantly let him…and look what happened. These siblings were adopted from Juugo's animal rescue program as well, just a few years ago. They haunt the Uchiha woodlands, which is THEIR territory now. They spend only about two days a week at home with Naru and Sas.

They've had other cats as well over the years as foster-parents, but these four are their forever-babies. Yes, Sasuke wants more. And yes, he'll probably get exactly what he wants, as usual!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: A quick note of re-assurance for all those lovely souls who are concerned about the clone! While Naruto's clones sometimes have a spark, a bit of personality of their own, Sasuke's clones aren't like that at ALL. They're very…drone-like. As we'll see as we get further on, she really doesn't have thoughts of her own or much personality at all. She hardly ever does anything beyond simple tasks without Sasuke's direct control over her. It's actually kind-of creepy, even though I didn't mean it to be, oops! And it takes a lot more physical and mental energy for Sasuke than it would have for Naruto- he would have just let his clone do whatever it wanted, and it most definitely would have developed a personality of its own!

She spends most of her time in their upstairs bedroom, but she does walk around the woods and of course goes to the hospital. The people of Konoha already know about her, but they're quite used to Naruto and Sasuke's clones wandering around. And if this one seems a little more…feminine, well…every Hokage has their kinks, so!

* * *

There was a certain trick to just getting on with your life and going about as usual when you felt nauseous all the time. At least, Sasuke _assumed_ that such a trick existed; unfortunately, he'd yet to learn what it was.

He did his best to hide it. After all, Naruto and Sakura kept bugging him to work on the barrier between himself and the clone. If he could cut off that link, he wouldn't be able to feel all those unpleasant sensations. His efforts with all that were not going well, however, and for some reason he was hesitant to push too hard.

 _Someone needs to keep an eye on the clone, after all_ , Sasuke thought to himself. He couldn't have said what it was he thought the clone would _do_ , or what disaster might occur- but pretty much everything that had ever happened in his life had taught him to be _cautious_.

"How are you feeling, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi asked, gazing up from where he and baby Sakumo were couched by the training-room wall.

Sasuke bit back a growl, shooting Kakashi a glare as he moved through the room preparing for his class. "Don't you _dare_ start all that," he warned. "I've had enough of Naruto and Sakura treating me like a pregnant woman. I'm _not_. Cut it out already!"

Kakashi grinned at that, his eyes following his son. Sakumo was on the move, putting his newly-learned crawling skills to good use. "Ah, still feeling like you want to throw up everything you've ever eaten?" he asked.

"I'm _fine_ ," Sasuke hissed, rushing forward and retrieving Sakumo before he could get his hands on the wooden katanas in the centre of the room. He went back to the wall and held the squealing kid out to his father.

Kakashi took him gratefully, tossing him up in the air until he was smiley and happy once more. "No you don't, kiddo. Not even a toy katana for you!"

"Why not?" Sasuke said to that. "Something wrong with swords?" he added with a glare, folding his arms across his chest. If Kakashi had a problem with it, maybe he should stop crashing every one of Sasuke's classes. Two times a week he mentored a small group of genin. Sakura did the same at the hospital. It was better for genin to have someone else to learn from- not just their jounin sensei.

"Nothing's wrong with swords," Kakashi said. "They're just not for _this_ little guy."

Sasuke shrugged and went back to his preparations. His five students would be arriving soon. They weren't bad, but they had a long way to go. Swordplay wasn't one of the skills taught at the academy, so most of these kids had very little experience with katanas before last year.

He took a deep breath, trying to look as if he weren't dying on the inside. Back home the clone was bent over the bathroom sink yet again. It didn't matter how little food Sasuke gave it to eat; it was still throwing up several times a day.

No matter. A shinobi's job is to endure.

"And what are we doing today?" Kakashi asked, as he watched Sasuke prepare and continued to be of absolutely no assistance whatsoever. He was a full-time stay-at-home-dad these days, as he reminded everyone at every opportunity.

"The usual," Sasuke replied. "Drills and more drills. Maybe some practice matches at the end of class, if they're doing well enough." And if Sasuke himself was feeling up to it. Honestly, he would have liked nothing more than to cancel the whole class and go home to bed.

He leant up against the wall, deciding to just stand still for a few moments before his students arrived. At home the clone was gazing at itself in the mirror. Its skin was pale and covered with a fine sheen of sweat. Sasuke felt a stab of sympathy for her. The clone might not be…well, _real_ ; she'd just pop out of existence after this was all over. But for now, she was feeling pretty damn miserable.

"I wasn't asking about the nausea, by the way," Kakashi said, taking up their previous conversation. "I wanted to ask how you're feeling about your impending fatherhood."

Sasuke glanced over at him. "My _what_?" he muttered. "As if this whole thing is even going to work."

"Ah, right," Kakashi said to that, a little cheerfully. "You know, Sakura's doing her best to reign in her optimism for all this. Even though she's silently confident. But _you_ , Sasuke, you've got pessimism _mastered_."

He shrugged. It had been eleven weeks. Things appeared to be progressing normally, but this was all still a… _test_. He turned his mind away from the image they'd seen at the ultrasound. No good could come from dwelling on that.

"But in any case, you'll be starting a family one way or another, won't you?" Kakashi went on. "You'd try again, or try something else?"

Sasuke shrugged again. Yes, probably. He thought back to last night, at Naruto's delighted face while reading the book Sakura had lent him. He'd skipped all the pregnancy stuff- _it's freaky, Sasuke!_ he'd whined- and was onto the section about caring for newborns. That chapter was much more appealing, evidently.

So…yes. If this clone thing didn't work out then…they would try something else.

"I guess we'll have a family eventually," he said to Kakashi, his voice cautious and hesitant.

"And then…fatherhood," Kakashi said.

Sakumo crawled over to Sasuke, latching onto his legs and pulling himself up. " _Ga_ ," the baby said, grinning with satisfaction when Sasuke leaned over and snatched him up.

"I suppose so," Sasuke said in response to Kakashi's comment. Yes, they'd be fathers. What of it? "Why don't you want Sakumo playing with swords?" he said, changing the subject as the chubby baby tugged at the wooden katana strapped to Sasuke's side.

"I'd rather he'd grow up to be a chef," Kakashi said to that. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

A _chef?_ The son of the legendary Sakura Haruno and the Sixth Hokage- a _chef?_

"Not a shinobi?" Sasuke asked.

"Ah," Kakashi replied. "No. I don't think so. Yuzu will be, of course. It's too late to stop that."

Sasuke frowned. _Too late to stop that._ Well, naturally. Yuzu was already advanced for her age, constantly bugging them all to train with her. So Kakashi didn't want his son going down the same path…?

"It wears at one's soul," Kakashi murmured, "constantly sending children off to battle."

Sasuke blinked, startled at the change in his tone.

"The Yondaime said that to me once," Kakashi went on. "He talked about it a lot. How nice it would be if his child were born during a time of peace, and could become whatever it wanted."

"Naruto's father said that?" Sasuke remarked. His mind suddenly pulled up an image of Naruto working behind the counter of Ichiraku's. He'd be the owner of a whole chain of ramen stores; his whole life would be about ramen… Sasuke sighed and shook his head. Naruto Uzumaki, as anything _but_ a shinobi? How ludicrous. It was _ludicrous_ , right?

Kakashi nodded. "He can have a toy sword if he really wants one," he said, glancing at his son in Sasuke's arms. "I'd prefer he didn't, though."

Of course, Sasuke's mind went on, it's not like Naruto was ever given a chance to be anything _other_ than a shinobi…kids had options though, these days. And that would continue with the policies the tower was working on. Maybe little Sakumo _would_ be a chef.

"Sasuke-sensei!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed, breaking through Sasuke's musing. _Here we go_ , he thought. "Sasuke-sensei, I gotta show you what I practiced!"

He shook his head, putting aside all thoughts of _fatherhood_ , of raising shinobi or non-shinobi. He had a job to do.

* * *

Sasuke stopped by the tower after his class had ended. Yuki had everything in hand during his absence as usual. She was young, but very capable. Naruto was still in a meeting and would be working late, so Sasuke packed up some paperwork and headed home by himself.

 _Home_ these days was the house that he and Naruto had built off in the middle of the Uchiha lands. They called them the Uchiha _woods_ , thanks to the masses of trees that had sprung up on the empty land after Pein's attack on Konoha had wiped the whole place out.

It was set apart from the rest of Konoha and was gratifyingly private and peaceful. It wasn't always _quiet_ , since Sakura and Kakashi had a house of their own a short walk away through the trees. There were a few other houses as well: the little cabin he and Naruto had built as their hideaway when they'd first moved back to Konoha, and the house that Taka stayed in when they came to visit. No, it wasn't always _quiet_ around here, but it was a wonderful retreat from their busy working lives nonetheless.

Sasuke was deep in thought as he walked home. So, Kakashi didn't want his son to become a ninja; he had other dreams for his child. Did Naruto have dreams like that? Did he think about what it would be like raising their children in a hidden village, watching them grow up here? There was peace between the lands and hidden villages now, but what if that changed? What might their children have to face one day?

He and Naruto might not have spent a lot of time in the past talking about their future family, but they _had_ talked about peace. About what it had taken to achieve it- what it had cost both of them, personally- and what needed to be done to maintain it.

 _Hey, Naruto_ , he'd asked one night. _What would you have been if you weren't a ninja?_

Naruto had taken the question seriously before answering. That had surprised Sasuke- but then, perhaps Naruto put a lot of thought of his own into that question over the years.

 _I'd be a farmer, maybe,_ Naruto had said, gazing down at Sasuke with an oddly-hesitant expression on his face- as if he wasn't sure that Sasuke would approve of his answer. And Naruto had gone on to tell of the three months he and Jiraiya had lived on a civilian farm; he'd made Naruto and his clones do _all_ the farm-work as a training exercise in splitting his attention. _Yes, that's what I would have done. What I'd like to have done._

 _That sounds nice,_ Sasuke had said back, imagining Naruto out in the sunshine, working hard, his plants and animals all around him. More plants than animals, maybe. Naruto had always loved gardening.

His response had pleased Naruto. _I'd grow all kinds of vegetables,_ he'd gone on to say. _Cabbages and garlic and carrots._

Sasuke had found that part a little harder to believe: so Naruto would grow all those things even though he hated eating them?

 _I don't_ _ **hate**_ _them,_ Naruto had whined. _I just don't know how to cook them!_

Well, they'd changed _that_ since they moved back to Konoha. Naruto still had his weekly ramen, and he snuck cup ramen into work all the time, but he'd also learned how to cook. Harvesting his own vegetables from their planters on the balcony had made him so happy that Sasuke wished he really _could_ have been a farmer, and saved himself all he'd been through.

* * *

"Sa-su-ke~" Naruto sang as he waltzed into Sasuke's office later on that week. "I'm _bored_! What are you up to?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto came up behind him and latched onto his shoulders. "I'm _working_ , moron. What do you think I'm doing?" He threw a quick glance to see what Yuki and the others were doing- good, they'd made themselves busy. His staff knew what to do when Naruto was like _this_.

"Hmm," Naruto said to that, resting his head in the crook of Sasuke's neck, paying no heed whatsoever to the three girls across the room. "Thinking about _me_ , maybe?"

Oh right, because in Naruto's mind, Sasuke spent _all day_ doing that. "Idiot," Sasuke muttered. "Can't you find something useful to do?" It's not like he had a whole village to run or anything.

"I already did everything on my to-do list and _more_ ," Naruto said. "Let's go out, Sas. An afternoon-tea date. Come on!" he cajoled, nipping Sasuke's throat lightly and nuzzling his shoulder. Sasuke's blood spiked with heat at Naruto's touch and words, but he was a _professional_ , and could not be swayed.

"I'm busy," Sasuke argued, shrugging the blonde off of him. "Hana, tell him we're busy." She was the only one ballsy enough to put Naruto in his place.

"Uh, well," Hana said to that with a grin, looking over from where she and the other three girls were huddled, "we're actually pretty much done here-"

"Perfect!" Naruto declared, looking victorious. "Tea it is!"

"Naruto, I'm feeling far too sick for tea," he growled. Honestly! Just the thought of their little café around the corner made him feel- _oh_. Oh! Actually, he felt…fine. He frowned, focusing inwards for a minute. Did he really feel okay at the moment? _That_ was new.

"Tea will help," Naruto went on. "And you can come back to work right after-"

"Fine," Sasuke said abruptly, pushing back from his desk. "Let's go."

"-oh," Naruto blinked. "Really?" He looked shocked to be getting his own way. It didn't happen all that often. But his surprise quickly gave way to glee. He grinned at Sasuke and grabbed his hand. "Okay, let's go!"

"Do you three want anything?" Sasuke called out to his team as Naruto tugged him towards the door.

There was a little squeal and gasp of surprise from the corner. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Oh, come on, he was just offering them some cake- no need to act like _that_. So what if he'd been a little grumpy with them all these past few weeks?

"Truly?" cried Mao, before she was quickly hushed by Yuki.

"We're fine, boss," Yuki maintained, shooting a look at her two underlings. There was a soft cry of despair from Hana and Mao.

"Right," Sasuke said with a nod. "Matcha cupcakes it is." The cry of despair turned to one of joy.

"Aww, you're so good to them," Naruto exclaimed as they made their way out of the building. "No wonder you've got them all under your thumb!"

Sasuke frowned. No, the secret was getting them while they were young and training them. All three had been chuunin when Sasuke recruited them into the tower and put them to work. Under his watchful eye they'd become the perfect team to ensure everything ran just the way he wanted it to- just the way it _needed_ to, for Naruto to be the kind of Hokage he was. Matcha cupcakes had nothing to do with that.

"We're just having tea," Sasuke instructed, lacing his fingers through Naruto's and running through the café's extensive menu in his head. He might treat himself with some _gyokuro_ today. "And then we're coming right back here, okay?"

"Of course, Sas," Naruto agreed. "Some tea and a bit of cake, and maybe some sandwiches. Oh, and a quick make-out session before we leave. Then we'll come right back here!"

Sasuke sighed, feeling his resolve weaken. Naruto had the private, secluded booth at the back of the café permanently reserved under his name. Oh yes, it hadn't taken Naruto long at _all_ once they'd started dating to learn how to put Sasuke in the mood.

… _damn him_ , Sasuke thought, gripping Naruto's hand tighter and blushing slightly. _He's not nearly as idiotic as he seems sometimes_.

* * *

Sasuke lay on the couch with his head propped in Naruto's lap, staring out at the garden. For the first time in weeks he felt perfectly relaxed; the way Naruto's fingers were running through his hair and petting his face had almost put him to sleep.

"Feels nice," he purred, his voice soft and easy as he glanced up at Naruto's warm, comforting smile.

"Good," Naruto said in reply, his smile turning into a cheeky grin. He picked up one of Sasuke's hands and pressed his lips against it, lingering there for a moment until Sasuke made a small, content noise in the back of his throat.

They were having a lazy Sunday after a difficult few weeks. The morning sickness had eased, but was most definitely still _present_ , and Sasuke had never felt more tired in his life. He'd still been going to work every day- of course he was- but thanks to the insistence of his staff and some rather unabashed begging, he'd taken to cutting his days short and heading home in the afternoon.

At this exact moment he was too relaxed to care; but at most other times he'd been _very_ bothered by just how much this had all affected him. He'd been maintaining the clone for almost three months now, and each day it took a little more chakra to do so. It was still well within his limits, but if he looked ahead to the next six months…well. He had to admit, it was making him feel _anxious._

The clone itself was exhausted and sore, with stiff muscles and strange aches and pains. Sasuke had assumed he'd have no problem learning how to put a barrier between himself and the clone if he really put his mind to it, but it was continuing to be a lot harder than he thought. The physic link between them was very strong.

But no, right now he didn't mind- he'd let all that go for today and was just taking it easy. So what if he were a _man_ , experiencing all these feelings? Stranger things had happened in his life (and he wasn't even kidding. This barely cracked the top three).

"Um, Sasuke?" Naruto asked him, pulling his attention back to the present. "What's the clone doing down here?"

Sasuke turned his head to see Naruto gazing at the clone. She was making her way down the stairs to the kitchen, opening the fridge when she arrived and pulling out a bowl of leftover pasta and some orange juice.

"She's hungry," Sasuke said, shrugging. And both he _and_ the clone were very sick of those soldier pills. He couldn't be bothered taking food up to her, and the craving for real, solid food was just too much work to ignore. It wasn't worth it. She had legs. She could get what she wanted herself.

"Shouldn't we heat that up?" Naruto said as the clone sat at the table and dug into the cold pasta. "I was reading in the book about food safety…"

Sasuke considered this, and the clone paused with a fork halfway to her mouth. But the rich smell of tomatoes was wafting up from the bowl and driving Sasuke wild, and he knew that nothing could stop the clone from eating every strand of pasta _right now_.

"Next time," Sasuke promised, and the clone resumed eating.

"Well, it doesn't have any meat in it, so it's probably okay," Naruto said to that.

Sasuke glanced up at Naruto, feeling a vague and rare sense of admiration and appreciation for the blonde wash over him. How _responsible_ of him, to have actually read and remembered all those things. Sasuke had tried, but it all seemed too…frightening.

They lay in silence while the clone ate her cold pasta and orange juice. Both Sasuke and the clone felt a lot better for it. Then she got up and headed back for the stairs, and once again Naruto's eyes followed after her.

"I think she looks even skinner than before," he observed. "She doesn't seem _pregnant_ at all."

"Throwing up every day will do that to you," Sasuke said back, his voice still relaxed and neutral. "But actually, there _have_ been some changes. Her, um, chest is bigger," he explained.

Naruto blinked. "Is it really?"

"And _sore_ ," Sasuke whined. It was the strangest feeling of all, suddenly having the sensation of pain in body parts that he himself did not actually possess.

He turned away from Naruto and looked back out through the veranda doors. They had a nice view of the vegetable garden from here- the vegetable garden that they'd both been neglecting this past month.

"But you still can't _feel_ it yet, can you?" Naruto went on after a while. "The, um…"

"Little _San_?" Sasuke teased. _We need to do some weeding,_ he thought to himself. Their spring vegetables must be chocking. And maybe there'd be enough for a small harvest…a fresh salad sounded awfully good right now.

Naruto laughed. "Yeah. Little San-chan. Ha. The book said it's too early to feel any movement. Isn't that strange though? We're almost one-third through, and really all that's happened is throwing up."

"And the muscle pains," Sasuke added with a wry smile. "Don't forget about that."

"We need to work more on your barrier skills," Naruto suggested. "I don't know why you're so bad at it. I'm just _shocked_ , Sasuke, really!" he sang.

Sasuke scoffed. "You can't expect me to be a genius at _everything_." And it was very difficult! It was like learning how to ignore the existence of your own arms or legs.

"Can't I? You're an _Uchiha_ , aren't you?" Naruto said to that. "So disappointing, Sasuke. Anyway. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Actually, there is," Sasuke said. "I have no intention of moving from this couch all day, but I'd love it if _you_ went and weeded the garden."

Naruto chuckled. "Oh, right, I see how it is. Well, as it happens I was just thinking to myself that _someone_ really ought to do some weeding."

"So you'll do it? Good," Sasuke went on. "And, I'd appreciate if you…took your shirt off first."

Naruto gazed down at him and Sasuke blushed slightly, but remained firm. Hey, Naruto had _offered_ to help, and the sight of Naruto wandering around in the sun half-naked would _really_ help.

"Topless gardening, huh," Naruto teased, poking Sasuke's cheeks. "I'm sure I can manage that."

"Good," Sasuke repeated. Yes, that would be very helpful indeed.

* * *

 **Bonus: A Guide to Konoha in Peace-Time**

Running a hidden village in peace-time is no easy task, especially when said village has- essentially- been in war mode for _decades_ (forever, even). Naruto and Sasuke got some interesting ideas during their post- _Lost on the Road of Life_ travels about what things could be like- what things _should_ be like. They spent almost two years travelling between the hidden villages, sometimes working with the leadership there- doing missions, training with their shinobi- sometimes just living there for a while, observing. They spent a whole six months in Suna working with Gaara.

Kakashi was just fine as a Hokage, but he was a seasoned shinobi and always looking for the next big disaster. When Naruto and Sasuke decided to stay in Konoha they set to work making changes, and are making even more now as Hokage and "shadow king" (as people call Sasuke behind his back). Civilian and shinobi children attend pre-school and the first two years of school together. There's a bit of ninja instruction but not too much. After that, students can go to the Academy if they want to.

Students have to stay at the Academy until they're fourteen, and then they spend a minimum of two years as genin before they can take the chuunin exam. They have to pass a whole range of tests before they can even do that- and the exam itself is quite different, testing a much wider range of skills. As chuunin, they have more speciality options now than ever before- more non-combat and non-violent options especially.

With less missions available, Konoha has come up with a lot of other ways to make money over the years. It's a little-known fact that Naruto was actually responsible for importing _Chakra-Ball_ into Suna and then into Konoha as well. Chakra-Ball is now the world's first professional shinobi spectator sport and the matches draw huge crowds. Even civilians from other towns and cities come to watch the games- Konoha stadium is set outside the walls. Konoha is currently second on the leader-board. A legion of young shinobi now dream of being sports stars instead of ninja.

There are more outsiders in Konoha as well these days. There's a very small and highly regulated tourism industry. The ANBU still _hate_ this- it's a lot of work for them, monitoring the comings and goings of tourists. There's a new Konoha hospital outside the walls that accepts civilians, and trains future medic-nin who will move away from Konoha eventually.

Naruto puts a lot of work into making Konoha a good place to live. It has much more community spirit now, and that community incorporates _everyone_ , both shinobi and civilians. There aren't any orphans and there are whole departments in the civilian branch of the government that take care of social concerns. The civilian government is slowly becoming democratically-elected. The shinobi side of things still isn't: ninjas don't like that sort of thing. Not _yet,_ anyway.

Of course there is still a lot of tension and a fair amount of anxiety about Konoha's future. No-one can rule out future conflicts, but everyone's working hard to maintain peace between the hidden villages. Konoha still focuses on training strong shinobi to safe-guard that peace, and violent missions are still common.

It took Naruto and Sasuke a long time to decide to stay in Konoha, and an even longer time to feel comfortable with that decision. But they _did_ stay, and here is where they'll raise their family.


	6. Chapter 6

**NSFW warning!** And it includes SasuNaru- just a heads up for my NaruSasu purists!

* * *

The first three months finally came to an end- the first _trimester_ , Naruto called it. And as promised, the nausea and aches ended with it. The first morning that Sasuke woke up and realised he was feeling perfectly _healthy_ , he was so excited that he woke Naruto up at once and dragged the blonde into the shower with him for a- well, a _celebration_. Naruto had been most amused, but more than happy to oblige. They were very late for work that morning.

Surprisingly, that seemed to be the new pattern of things. Sasuke suddenly had an awful lot of energy, of _all_ kinds. It was helpful, and he was managing to catch up on the work he'd missed in the past few weeks. But more than anything else…his body was abruptly demanding a _lot_ more time with Naruto wrapped around him. And as Sasuke arched up against him one morning, crying out and trembling, he wondered what on _earth_ was going on.

Oh sure, sex for them was still a once-a-day thing…usually. Not counting the past month and a half of course. And…maybe sometimes they got lazy. They'd been pretty busy since Naruto became Hokage, after all, so maybe they'd let that slide a bit. They'd been together for _nine years_ , after all.

But this week? All that was out the window. They were back to three times a day, no exceptions.

"You know there's a reason, don't you?" Naruto teased, as he peppered Sasuke's stomach with little kisses. "Why you're feeling particularly _energetic_ this week?"

"Is that the word for it?" Sasuke smirked, gazing down at Naruto and running his hands through his hair. "But go ahead then, what's your explanation?" Privately Sasuke just figured it was _relief_. Really, wouldn't _anyone_ feel like this after being sick every day for the past month?

"It's hormones," Naruto said, resting his chin on Sasuke's chest. "Of the randy kind."

Sasuke scoffed. _Randy_ hormones? Honestly. "Oh come on, Naruto," he said, reaching out and flicking his nose.

"It's true!" Naruto maintained. "It's all in the book, which you _still_ haven't bothered to read. Your clone's body is _flooded_ with them at the moment. And since you also still haven't learned how to barricade yourself from it…"

Ohh, what judgement! Sasuke _would_ learn, eventually. Just like he'd read that book…eventually.

"That's ridiculous," Sasuke commented. "Why on earth would someone who's _pregnant_ just want sex all the time? Isn't it- counterproductive?"

Naruto shrugged, nuzzling into Sasuke's skin, circling a tongue lazily around his left nipple. Sasuke groaned softly, feeling himself starting to respond again. "Er, well, there _was_ an explanation in the book," Naruto went on, "but it all got a little too technical. Um, but there were some nice pictures of what little Shi-chan should look like now. Almost like an actual baby!"

 _Hmm. Maybe I_ _ **should**_ _read the book_ , Sasuke thought to himself; but his attention was quickly diverted from that idea when he felt Naruto's hand sneaking down between his legs. His blood spiked with heat at once.

"You have a meeting this morning," the responsible part of him murmured, even as he groaned and tugged at Naruto's hair. "You promised Shikamaru you wouldn't be late… _mm_ , Naruto…"

"I'll make it quick, then," Naruto teased, dropping a kiss at the base of his stomach and then heading further south. "I couldn't possibly leave you like _this_."

Sasuke moaned and arched upwards as Naruto took him into his mouth. " _Ohh_ , okay…" he gasped out. "If you insist…"

And if this hormonal flood continued, Naruto would just have to be late for a few more meetings as well. Some things were just more important.

* * *

After another week of that, Sasuke made the wise decision that now was the right time to take a vacation. They still had that overnight stay at the onsen that Sasuke had bought for their anniversary- they'd just been far too busy and distracted to use it. Sasuke quietly had it extended into a three-night stay and informed his staff that the Hokage would be out of town for a while.

"We haven't been here in _ages_!" Naruto exclaimed happily as the made their way up the mountain to the private onsen retreat. "Hey, remember that one time in winter…"

Sasuke blushed, his mind suddenly flooded with very visceral memories of what they'd done on _that_ particular trip. Whenever they came here they booked the whole place out, and even the staff only stopped by to drop off their meals. And so they were completely alone in the middle of nowhere, and yes, they took advantage of that fact- thoroughly.

"It's been far too long," Sasuke agreed with a curt nod. "The burden of being Hokage, hey?"

Naruto grinned. "I suppose so. I can't _wait_. I've been dreaming of you in those yukatas for months!"

Sasuke's blush deepened. "Naruto!" he cried, remembering the varied uses they'd put those yukatas to in the past. "You _haven't_!"

"I considered getting them to send me one for you to wear around the house," Naruto informed him gravely and without shame. "Honestly, if I had my way you'd wear nothing but a yukata or kimono every day."

"That would be _so_ much work," Sasuke said with a sigh. "And I'd make _you_ do it as well, just so you know."

"Ah, I wouldn't mind!" Naruto said to that. "I like them! They're so comfy."

Well, they _would_ be, with the way Naruto wore them- the belt all loose and the whole ensemble falling open at the chest, sliding off his shoulders. …Sasuke suddenly felt his mouth go dry and he sped up, dragging Naruto behind him. Oh, it had been _far_ too long since they'd gone away together!

* * *

Naruto groaned as he floated on his back in the outdoor onsen. "Well, you did it," he whined to Sasuke. "You finally wore me out."

"Would you stop floating and just sit down like a normal person?" Sasuke instructed, rolling his eyes. "And _I'm_ not tired, so you better get your strength back before dinner!"

"I'm not coming anywhere _near_ you," Naruto said to that, rolling over and paddling to the opposite side of the onsen. "Not if you want me to recover my strength!"

Sasuke burst into giggles at that. Naruto just looked so _traumatised_ , the poor thing. Well, he'd done admirably so far, so perhaps he deserved a rest.

"I wonder what they'll give us for dinner?" Sasuke asked, thinking that some salmon-roe sashimi would go very nicely at the moment. With just the tiniest bit of wasabi, just on the end, and a bit of pickled ginger. Oh, and some miso soup with little clams in it, and maybe some chocolate ice-cream as well.

"Hey, Sasuke, you're drooling," Naruto teased, and when Sasuke came back to earth he found Naruto smirking at him from across the water. "I don't care _what_ they bring for dinner, as long as there's a _lot_ of it!"

"Chicken katsu-don," Sasuke announced, biting his lip. "That's what I want."

"Ha! At a fancy onsen resort? I'd say that's as likely as me getting _ramen_."

"That's what I _want_ , though," Sasuke pouted. "And some lemon cheesecake as well."

"…really?" Naruto said, staring over at him doubtfully. "You want _dessert_?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, crossing his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes.

Naruto blinked. "…oh my god," he exclaimed. "Sasuke, you're having cravings!"

Sasuke scoffed at that. "I am not," he shot back. Come on, wasn't he allowed to want just a little dessert without it being linked to the fact that his clone was pregnant? That had nothing to do with it!

"I don't think they're going to bring us cheesecake," Naruto said to that, swimming over to him.

"Well, that's what I want," Sasuke grumbled. How many times did he have to say it? "And oranges, too."

Naruto frowned. "Oh, but…I guess we could try leaving them a note? They might bring some tomorrow. I'm sure they would, if we gave them enough warning."

"Good," Sasuke said with a satisfied nod. And now that Naruto was back within reach… He pushed himself up in the water and slid over, seating himself on Naruto's lap and wrapping his arms around those broad shoulders. "Hi," he purred, leaning down to nuzzle his neck.

"Oops, you caught me," Naruto groaned, inclining his head to bare his throat. "Well played, Sasuke," he added.

"Thank you," Sasuke said with a satisfied murmur. He grabbed onto Naruto's hands and manoeuvred them around his waist, wriggling around until Naruto pressed his fingers along the line of his spine. Then he went back to Naruto's throat, biting down and sucking hard on a pulse-point.

Naruto took a sharp breath and rolled his hips upwards, much to Sasuke's delight. "Maybe one more round before dinner," he panted, digging his fingers into Sasuke's thighs and pushing them apart so that Sasuke fell further down on him.

" _Two_ rounds," Sasuke breathed, tugging on Naruto's hair and then biting back down on his neck.

"So much faith in my ability to perform, Sas," Naruto said with a moan, rolling his hips once more and sliding his hands higher up Sasuke's thighs. "I'll do my best, if _you_ do that thing with your tongue…"

Sasuke pulled back from Naruto's throat and grinned. "Oh you've got yourself a _deal_ , Naruto Uzumaki," he leered, twisting out of the blonde's grasp and making his way out of the water. "We'd better get started, then!"

* * *

Sasuke woke in the middle of the night and gazed around him, confused and disorientated for a few moments. But then he remembered where he was and he smiled, relaxing at once.

It was just so _nice_ to get away for a while- for it to be just _them_ for a few days. Ever since Naruto had become Hokage there'd been people after him at all hours of the day, demanding his time and attention.

Sasuke bore that with as much grace as he could. Both he and Naruto had known what they were doing when they decided to stay in Konoha. Indeed, both knew that building a life for themselves in Konoha would be impossible unless they had goals. Konoha's failings stood out to them in stark relief after two years away. Sasuke had so much that he wanted to change, and Naruto had so much he wanted to accomplish. They'd worked hard and got themselves where they needed to be in order to make those changes happen. It was all finally paying off.

Sasuke shifted around in his futon staring up at the roof. He wasn't at _all_ tired. In fact he was feeling quite…dissatisfied. He rolled over and snuggled closer to Naruto's side, moulding himself against the curve of his back and cuddling into his neck. Naruto sighed softly in his sleep as Sasuke slipped an arm around his middle, holding him close.

He bit his lip to keep from moaning. Even just pressing up against him like this, having Naruto in his arms felt amazing. Knowing that Naruto was _his_ …it took his breath away, sometimes.

"Naruto?" Sasuke called, tugging at the ties of Naruto's yukata until they came undone and sliding a hand through the folds, running up and down the flat plane of his stomach. "Naruto…are you awake?"

Naruto stirred, breathing softly and pressing back against Sasuke's chest. " _Mm_ ," he murmured. "What is it, Sas? Something wrong?"

Sasuke laid his head on Naruto's back, placing a soft, open-mouthed kiss to his skin. "Nothing's wrong," he said back, nipping his way up to the top of his shoulder-blade. "I'm just…you know."

Naruto chuckled under his breath. "Again?" he said with a yawn. "You're a marvel, you know that?"

"Well, I _do_ know," Sasuke said to that. He pulled more of Naruto's yukata away, caressing his bare skin and reaching down between his thighs. "But you're not too bad yourself. I just can't resist you…"

Naruto let out a groan as Sasuke's fingers played lightly up and down his length. Sasuke could feel him responding under his touch. Good, he was _interested_. "Oh, but I'm so _tired_ , Sasuke," he whined, even as he moved his hips forward, pushing himself into Sasuke's hand. "It won't be very good…"

"You don't have to do anything," Sasuke promised, nipping his shoulder again and reaching behind him to grab the bottle they'd left beside the futons. "You just have to let _me_ do whatever I want."

"Mm? Sasuke, what do you… _ohh_ ," Naruto groaned, when Sasuke slipped a finger inside him without warning. "Oh, okay…" he purred, happily letting Sasuke push his legs further apart to give him better access.

"It's been a while," Sasuke breathed as he moved his finger in and out and added a second. So _tight_ and hot. "Is it…you don't mind?"

"I'll grin and bear it," Naruto said to that, twisting his torso so he could smirk up at Sasuke, tugging his face down to kiss him. "Ohh, do that again, Sas, curl your fingers just like that… _yes_ ," he moaned, his skin flushing red in pleasure as he moved against Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke leaned down to kiss him again, running his tongue along his mouth and sucking gently on his bottom lip. A rush of heat went right through him and he slipped a third finger into Naruto's entrance, feeling immensely impatient and full of need to just take him _now_. "Naruto," he panted. " _Mmm_ , you feel so _good_ …"

"Pass me the bottle," Naruto ordered, and when Sasuke did he quickly slicked up his hand and reached behind him, sliding his fingers up and down Sasuke's length. "You- you can do it now," he gasped, breathing heavily, his chest heaving up and down.

Sasuke intended to do just that; he couldn't wait any longer. He removed his fingers and quickly pushed into Naruto, holding on tight to his hips, panting and straining. Naruto groaned and pushed right back against him, and arching his spine. Sasuke felt a wave of desire overcome him and he slid all the way inside, draping a leg around Naruto's thigh and twining them together. " _God,_ Naruto," he moaned, lost in the sensation.

"Keep going Sasuke, _please_ ," Naruto begged, "I can't- ohh _yes_ , like that, _mm_ …" he added, making a deep-throated sound of pleasure that had Sasuke trembling and thrusting into him harder.

If Naruto kept making sounds like _that_ , Sasuke wasn't going to last long at _all._ He quickly turned his attention back to the hand he had curled around Naruto's length, rubbing up and down and drawing another groan from the blonde. Sasuke applied himself to his task, setting a fast pace, groaning softly and biting down on Naruto's shoulder. Oh, he couldn't _bear_ this, it just felt too _good_ , he-

-he was filled with light, his body sparking of electricity and the world spinning around him.

"Sa- Sasuke, _oh_ -" Naruto cried, spilling into Sasuke's hand, arching back against him, and then Sasuke was _lost_. He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his head in Naruto's shoulder, his movements becoming jagged as the heat took over him and he came _hard_.

" _Naruto_ ," he whimpered, holding on tight, overwhelmed, "mm, yes, _yes_ …"

"…god," Naruto breathed, groaning and untwisting their limbs, stretching out.

Sasuke slipping out of him gently, completely worn out. "You're amazing," he murmured to Naruto, leaning over him and pressing their lips together, their breaths mingling as they panted softly. "Thank you…"

"Anything for you, kitten," Naruto said to that, yawning and falling back down on his futon, pulling the blankets back up around them both. "Wanna go again?" he added, but despite his words his voice tapered off at the end, and within a minute he was fast asleep by Sasuke's side once more.

"Couldn't even if I wanted to," Sasuke purred, settling down next to him, adjusting his yukata. He was perfectly content now and ready for a proper night's sleep. He hoped Naruto wouldn't be _too_ sore in the morning; he could be _such_ a baby about that.

* * *

"You're a monster," Naruto whined as he paddled around the onsen the next morning with a pained look on his face. "It _hurts_!" he added with an undignified little cry, throwing a betrayed look in Sasuke's direction.

"If you let me do it more often, it wouldn't hurt as much," Sasuke calmly said back, rolling his eyes. He turned his attention back to washing his hair. He wasn't entirely un-sympathetic of course, but he also felt reasonably confident that Naruto would recover before too long- he always did.

Naruto looked horrified at Sasuke's words. "More often?! You want to do it _more?!"_ he exclaimed, paddling further away from Sasuke- a pointless endeavour, since Sasuke was in fact not yet in the water, and was therefore no threat to Naruto's rear-end.

Sasuke grinned and Naruto blanched. "I think your cute little butt is safe from me," he teased, pouring a bucket of water over himself. "As lovely as it is, and as enjoyable as last night was."

"Ah, well," Naruto said to that, looking most relieved. "Yes, it was very nice. Though quite unexpected."

Unexpected for _him_ , as well; Sasuke hadn't exactly _planned_ it, he'd just woken up and it happened. He would be very gentle with his man for the next few days to make up for the shock of it all. Sasuke grinned to himself as he got to his feet and headed for the water.

And then he froze, his attention suddenly drawn inward. Something was- wait, what was _that_?

"Sasuke?" Naruto called, swimming up to the side of the onsen and staring up at him in alarm. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke frowned. He…he didn't know. "I felt something," he said. "I mean, the- the _clone_ felt something."

Naruto looked horrified. "A _bad_ something?!" he demanded. "We need to go home at once-"

"Just- hang on a moment, Naruto," Sasuke interjected. He closed his eyes and stood there focusing inwards, focusing on what the clone was feeling. There it was again. A _flutter_ , almost like a tiny little muscle spasm, but- different. Such a small feeling, but he was sure it was new.

"Sasuke, talk to me!" Naruto cried. "What's _wrong_?"

Sasuke opened his eyes and gazed down at him. "Nothing," he said. "I think I…I think she's feeling the baby move."

Naruto's eyes opened wide in surprise, and for several silent moments they both stared at each other in disbelief, the shock written on both their faces. And then the next moment Naruto was out of the water and gripping Sasuke tight, laughing and grinning like an idiot- and Sasuke was laughing and grinning right back.


	7. Chapter 7

"It's just such a strange feeling," Sasuke said to Ginger as she lay stretched out on his stomach. He reached out and scratched her ears, running his hand all along her back.

"Mer?" Ginger said back to him, opening her eyes and gazing upwards, arching her back.

"Well, I don't mean the baby moving," Sasuke explained. It had happened a few times in the week after the onsen, and now it happened about once a day. "No, I just mean…if this actually _works_ , then…we'll have a _baby_."

"Mer," Ginger agreed, closing her eyes again and turning her face away, curling up into a tighter ball on top of him, fluffy tail disappearing underneath her.

Sasuke sighed. Obviously his concerns were not riveting enough to hold the feline's attention. "Do _you_ care?" he called down to Ao who was lying on his feet, stretched out and twisted around his legs.

Ao didn't respond, but she _did_ reach out and lick his ankle…whatever _that_ was meant to mean.

He sighed again. Had he really gone into this whole thing without any faith that it would _work_? How…irresponsible of him. What was he planning to do when the baby arrived? _If_ it arrived. It could all still go wrong, obviously. There were no guarantees.

…and yet. They were at almost four months and really, there'd been no problems. Yes, it was taking more chakra than anticipated to maintain the clone and keep her in good health, but it wasn't taking too _much_ chakra. Everything was going very well, in the big scheme of things. Sakura said the baby was healthy. It was the right size and had all the parts you'd expect at this stage. It was developing well and hitting all the right milestones.

"No," Sasuke said to Ginger, shifting on the couch and siting up. Ginger slid to the side and looked up at him with startled eyes. "It's not that I didn't think it would work- logically, I knew that it _could_ work- it's just that I'd convinced myself that it _wouldn't_."

Ginger narrowed her eyes at him, looking highly offended. Probably that was because she'd just been tipped off her warm, comfy perch so abruptly, but maybe she was _also_ offended by Sasuke's confession. " _Mraw_ ," she growled grumpily, turning around and facing away from him, swishing her tail angrily.

"Yeah, well, what if something happened and we _lost_ it?" Sasuke growled back, reaching over and picking up Ao instead. Maybe _she'd_ be more reasonable. "I'm just saying, it's safer to assume that things will go wrong. To be _prepared_ for it."

He held Ao up in front of him, her legs dangling lazily down in the air. "Mrr," Ao purred, swatting her little paws at him until Sasuke brought her closer and put her down in his lap.

Oh, he was an idiot. He _knew_ he was. At the moment he was more prepared for things to go _wrong_ than he was to have an actual baby in his arms. "I _do_ want one," he assured Ao. "Obviously. I wouldn't have agreed to it if I didn't want a kid! What do you take me for?"

Ao just purred and pushed her head further into Sasuke's hand until he obliged and started petting her properly. Ao liked being scratched under her chin the best, so Sasuke slipped his fingers under her head, digging into her lovely calico fur.

"…I just figured it wouldn't work, and then we could say, _oh well, we tried_ , and then we'd just adopt like normal people." He fell to the back of the couch heavily and closed his eyes. What on earth would he do with a baby that was half him, and half Naruto? Whose eyes would it have? Whose face? Would it be like Naruto, all smiles and sunshine and happiness, or would it be like… _him_?

He groaned. There was no point worrying about all this now. He should get back to work: Naruto had made him promise to practice his barrier skills tonight. Sasuke was still useless at cutting off sensations from the clone.

The difficulty lay in the fact that even though you were shutting off the _physic_ link, the _physical_ link still needed to be impeccably maintained. That was crucially important, since it was constantly diverting some of your own chakra to the clone's body. To be honest, Sasuke was having a hard time distinguishing between the two. So it had been almost four months; and as a result Sasuke had spent the whole time feeling like he was in two places at once.

"Look, it's not that bad," he explained to Ao. "Shinobi have to put up with all kinds of weird feelings. You wouldn't _believe_ how difficult it is to hang upside-down from a tree branch and convince yourself you're not going to fall."

Ao looked unimpressed- as she well might. Who was Sasuke trying to convince here? No, it wasn't _bad_ , being able to feel everything the clone felt, see everything the clone saw. It was just _odd_.

In any case, he wasn't going to make any progress just _talking_ about it. He closed his eyes and steadied his breath. He tried to visualise the chakra link between himself and the clone upstairs. If he tried, he could follow the energy leaving his body and entering her's. The physic link, on the other hand, was much harder to visualise. And he-

"-oh, daddy's home," Sasuke said, opening his eyes and sitting up straighter. There in the back of his mind was that unique little spark of chakra that told Sasuke where Naruto was. It was getting stronger, so that meant that Naruto was done with his monthly boy's night at Kiba's and was just around the corner. "Good," Sasuke added. "Now I don't have to do _this_ anymore."

"I'm home," came Naruto's voice from the front door a few minutes later. "Sasuke?"

"We're in here," Sasuke called back, and soon Naruto was peeking his head into the room. "How was it?" he asked, scratching Ao's belly.

"It was great," Naruto grinned, moving over to him, giving Ginger a quick pat on the head as he made to sit down. "We played poker tonight. I lost every game."

"I'm sure you did," Sasuke said to that, shifting over to make room for Naruto on the couch and then snuggling into his arms, giving him a welcome-home kiss.

"And how's my favourite kitten doing?" Naruto cooed, rubbing their noses together. The two cats instantly glanced up at him with looks of intense betrayal in their eyes.

"Oh, come on," Sasuke said to them, feeling pleased and smug. "Don't pretend you don't know that he likes _me_ the best."

"I'll pay for that one later," Naruto commented, pulling him closer and kissing him again, a little deeper this time, nipping his bottom lip. "And how was _your_ night? Did you make any progress?"

Sasuke considered lying- but Naruto would almost certainly be able to tell, damn him. Naruto just knew him too well now. "A little," he said instead. That wasn't a total lie- it might slip through his defences.

"We'll practice some more before bed then," Naruto announced cheerfully. "Okay, tell me where you're up to!"

Sasuke's face fell. "I don't _want_ to practice anymore!" he scowled. "Why should I? Why does it even _matter_?!"

Naruto grinned. "You may not feel pregnant _now_ , but you will when the clone gets further alone. Do you _really_ want to go through that- feeling like a pregnant _man_?"

"…no," Sasuke sulked, pulling away from him and crossing his arms. But what difference did it make? What they were doing was unorthodox by any reckoning. Sasuke had created a clone, the clone had made itself female, and had then gotten pregnant. "Everything's fine the way it is," he went on.

"Right, and when the clone goes into labour? How about _then_?" Naruto teased, sneaking his hands down Sasuke's sides and tickling his skin.

…ah. He might have a point there. "I could handle it," Sasuke grumbled, swatting Naruto's fingers away.

"Even when there's a baby pushing out of your _female area_?" Naruto continued.

Sasuke paled. "I could _handle_ it," he repeated. And wouldn't it be safer that way? It was definitely safer _now_ , to be aware of the clone at all times.

"Shall I tell you what I think the problem is?" Naruto suggested, shifting over so they were touching again, kissing his nose lightly, licking the tip. "Hmm?"

"Go ahead," Sasuke said gruffly. That would be _interesting_ , if nothing else.

"You're a control freak," Naruto explained, matter-of-factly. "You don't want to cut off your link with the clone because you want to control everything, at all times."

"Naruto, that is _not_ true!" Sasuke scowled. "And it's not like I'm watching what she's doing every second of the day- I have my own life, you know!"

"Right, but what if something went _wrong_?" Naruto went on in a sing-song voice. "What if the clone suddenly _felt_ something and you missed it? What if the clone fell down the stairs? What if it forgot to eat a meal, or didn't get its three litres of water a day?"

"You're _crazy_ ," Sasuke muttered. The clone was perfectly competent and could take care of herself- she certainly wasn't going to fall down the stairs!

"Oh, I'm sure you've thought worse," Naruto continued. "What if by cutting off the psychic link, you damage the physical one as well? What if you severed the psychic link _permanently_? What if the clone popped out of existence because you were _tampering_ with things?"

Sasuke froze. That- that wasn't….he _hadn't_ been thinking those things, of course not. Naruto was _insane_! "Well now I'm never practicing _again!_ " he shrieked. "What awful things to say, Naruto!"

Naruto nodded. "Ah right, so none of this had occurred to you."

" _No_ ," Sasuke grumbled. At least not in those words. Not that… _succinctly_. No, he'd never been able to express his fears the way Naruto just had.

Naruto slipped his arm around Sasuke's body and tugged him to his side, and Sasuke reluctantly let his head fall to Naruto's shoulder. He took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could forget the whole damn thing.

"It's hard, I know it is Sas. This has never been done before…well, that we know of! You _must_ be frightened. _I_ am."

"I'm fine," Sasuke mumbled, trembling slightly in Naruto's arms. How dare he put all those horrible ideas in his head, that- that- moron!

"I really think it's important that you _try_ ," Naruto went on.

"Not a chance in hell," Sasuke shot back. "Make me try again and I'll kick you in the balls."

Naruto burst out laughing and he pressed a sloppy wet kiss to his forehead, lingering there for far longer than necessary. Oh, the nerve of this man! To say all those horrifying things, to put all of Sasuke's fears in one neat little package like that- and to _smile_ while he did so, to _laugh_!

"And what are _you_ two looking at," Sasuke growled, seeing the cats staring at him. "Knock it off!"

"Aww, they can't help it," Naruto said, ruffling his hair. "They just love you too much."

"They _don't_ ," Sasuke snapped.

"If you say so," Naruto said. "Well, _I_ love you too much."

"Have you been drinking?" Sasuke scowled.

"A little," Naruto said to that cheerfully. "Anyway! Let's go have a nice relaxing bath. You look a little frazzled, kitten."

"It's your own fault," Sasuke said back. "What did you expect?!"

"Mm, well, I might have been a little blunt," Naruto admitted. "I'll make it up to you. We'll do whatever you want, all weekend."

"We damn well better," Sasuke shot, sliding out from under Naruto's arms and heading for their bedroom.

"-as long as it includes some practicing," Naruto added.

* * *

"It's hopeless," Sasuke whined, after more than an hour had gone by and he hadn't made any progress at all. "I don't understand how you can do it so easily!"

Naruto reached over and gave him a sympathetic pat on the head. "Oh you can't compare yourself to _me_ , the great Naruto Uzumaki!" he declared.

Sasuke stood up and stormed out of their bedroom, shooting Naruto a vicious look over his shoulder. He could hear Naruto's peals of laughter all the way to the kitchen. That idiot!

He growled to himself as he switched on the kettle and found his favourite mug. Black tea this morning, with lemon, yes. Strong, very strong. "You're not getting any!" he snarled when Naruto came up to him and snuggled into his back.

"Aww," Naruto whined, biting down on his earlobe. "Not even a sip of yours?"

"No," Sasuke declared. "You don't deserve a single drop!"

"But I've got such a good idea for what to do next," Naruto went on. "And you really _shouldn't_ compare yourself to me, I've been working with clones for more than half my life. I'm used to it."

"Those were just normal clones in the beginning," Sasuke argued, pouring boiling water into his mug with the tea-leaves. "Ones that popped away if you barely touched them!" Though, to be fair, the sheer amount of clones that Naruto dealt with even back then was…staggering. Imagine having your attention divided amongst one hundred pairs of eyes. No wonder Naruto had become adept at creating barriers.

"I can help you, Sasuke," Naruto insisted, sneaking his hand around Sasuke's waist and snatching his tea.

"Naruto!" Sasuke scowled. "If your good idea works out, I'll make you some tea, but not before then!"

Naruto paused with the mug halfway to his mouth. "Oh, so you'll try?" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I'll try," he snapped. "…stupid dead-last," he muttered under his breath. He snatched his tea back out of the blonde's hands and stalked off to the couch.

"Bring the clone down here," Naruto instructed, seating himself right there on the couch as if Sasuke wasn't furious with him.

"Fine," Sasuke said with a sigh, blowing and sipping on his tea, and in a few moments the clone came down the stairs and stood in front of them.

Naruto reached out and pulled a stool, manoeuvring it in front of Sasuke. "Have a seat," he said to the clone. "And you'll have to put your tea down, Sas. Hold her hands."

"Hold her hands?" Sasuke asked, incredulously. "Why?!"

"Mm, you'll see!" Naruto answered with a cheerful grin.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but put his tea aside and did as he was instructed. _Might as well get this over and done with_ , he told himself.

"Close your eyes," Naruto added, and Sasuke did so, with a growl. "Okay so, tell me. If you focus on where your hands are joining…can you tell where you end and the clone begins?"

 _What a stupid question_ , Sasuke growled to himself. Of course he could tell- _oh_. Except…he _couldn't_ tell. "What on earth?" he exclaimed, starting to panic. That was insane!

"Thought so!" Naruto said. "The clone's feeling of touching your hand is completely melding with your own feeling of touching _hers_. That's your starting point, then- figure out how to tell that apart, and then you might have more luck with your barrier!"

"I don't know how to do that," Sasuke said.

"Well, start from your shoulder and move your focus down from there. You can tell which shoulder's yours, can't you?" he teased.

"Yes," he muttered. He focused his attention on his right shoulder and worked his way down. All was going fine until he reached his wrist and then…it became the same muddled mess as before. "It's not working," he whined.

"Try again," Naruto instructed, and Sasuke could hear a strange slurping sound accompanying his words.

"Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Are you drinking my tea?!"

" _You're_ not drinking it," Naruto pointed out. "I'll make you some more when you're done."

"And when will we be done?" he scowled.

"When you can reach the end of your own fingertips, and can do the same with the clone- and know it's your clone's hand that you're feeling."

Ridiculous. This whole thing was ridiculous. He didn't know why he was bothering... _well, it's not like I've got anything better to do,_ he thought to himself with a sigh. _Might as well give it a go._

And after a while…he finally got there.

"Good job, babe," Naruto praised, grinning and giving him a peck on the cheek. "I knew you'd get it eventually."

"Great," Sasuke muttered. "I could tell which hand was mine. I'm so talented."

"Baby steps, kitten!" Naruto said to that. "Okay, let's get some more tea, and then we can do- whatever you want to do. That's enough for today!"

"Good," Sasuke growled.

He glanced over at the clock and was shocked by how much time had passed. He was impressed- how on earth had Naruto managed to sit there patiently by his side for that long?!

"Naruto," he called. "Wait. Look at this." Naruto turned and gazed over at him quizzingly, raising an eyebrow when the clone paused at the bottom of the stairs and pulled up its shirt.

"Uh, Sasuke?" he asked, the confusion clear in his voice.

"Look," Sasuke said again, having the clone turn sideways. And there it was; it was subtle, but it was _there_ \- a slight but very definite rounding to her previously flat stomach. "See? There's our little Shi."

* * *

"Everything seems to be on track," the obstetrician said to Sakura. "Good measurements. A little under average in size, but perfectly formed."

"That's great, Sasuke!" Sakura remarked, turning away from the screen to smile comfortingly at him.

"He's too _small_ ," Sasuke said, paraphrasing what Dr. Sato had just said. "What can we do about that?"

"Nothing," Dr. Sato said to that.

"You just have to wait, Sasuke," Sakura added. "It'll get there. Ah, not _it_ \- what are we up to? San-chan?"

"It's _Shi_ ," Sasuke murmured. "…as of a few days ago."

"Shi-chan," Sakura and the doctor exclaimed in unison, exchanging smiles.

"Sixteen weeks is a big milestone," Dr. Sato went on. "See how much more developed our little one is, even after just four more weeks?"

"I suppose so," Sasuke said to that. He hadn't come to the 12-week ultrasound, but Sakura had shown him and Naruto the pictures.

"Look at its wee little hands," Sakura gushed at the black and white screen, stepping closer. "Aren't they perfect? Oh, and the toes- Sasuke? Aren't they lovely?"

"Mm," Sasuke said back, squinting at the screen. So, it had hands and feet. It was a baby- _his_ baby. Just…great.

"What do you think of this, Haruno-sensei?" Dr. Sato said, pointing to something on the screen.

Sasuke instantly tensed and started to panic. "What is it, Sakura?" he demanded.

"Calm down, it's fine," Sakura said over her shoulder, waving him off. "Have you and Naruto decided if you want to know about the sex?"

"The _what_?" Sasuke exclaimed, still in panic-mode.

"The sex of the _baby_ , Sasuke. Do you want to know if it's a boy or girl, or would you rather wait?"

* * *

Sasuke drifted through the halls of the tower, having no idea how he got there from the hospital. He was feeling- _numb_ , yes, that's what he was feeling. Several people called out to him as he passed, but he just ignored them all and headed straight for Naruto's office, opening the door and pushing on in.

"Naruto," he mumbled, looking around the room and seeing a group of jounin in there. He was interrupting a mission assignment; he didn't care.

"What is it, Sasuke?" Naruto asked from behind his desk. He took one look at Sasuke's face and he paled to the colour of snow. "Okay guys, I'm gonna need a minute. We'll pick this up in- I'll let you know."

And just like that he cleared them all out, while Sasuke leaned heavily on the wall by the door, taking in short, shallow breaths and feeling more than a little light-headed.

"Sasuke, come here," Naruto said, closing the door behind the jounin. He took Sasuke's hand and lead him over to the couch in the corner, guiding him down. "God, tell me it's not awful. Please, Sasuke!"

He bit his lip. "It's- the baby-" he chocked, his throat having gone completely dry, and Naruto's face turned green.

"Shit, it's bad. I'm gonna throw up, just tell me Sasuke!"

"It's a _boy_ ," Sasuke gasped out, leaning heavily on Naruto's arms. "The baby- our baby. It's a _boy_ , Naruto!"

Naruto froze and took a sharp breath. "It- it's a _he_?" he demanded.

"Yes," Sasuke gasped back.

"And there's nothing wrong? Just that? Sasuke!"

"No, it's fine- he's fine. He's _small_ , but Sakura said he's fine, and-"

"And he's a _boy_!" Naruto interrupted. "Our son!"

Sasuke paled. Their _son_. Shit. He couldn't…he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Our son," he repeated, his voice low and raspy.

"We're having a boy," Naruto said, a wide, jubilant smile taking over his face. "Sasuke! I'm so happy!"

And the thing was, Sasuke was too. Really, really happy- and completely, one hundred percent terrified.


	8. Chapter 8

All week long Sasuke had been working on two goals: first, to practice maintaining a barrier between himself and the clone, and second, to not think about _why_ he needed that barrier so badly. The truth was, the baby-their _son_ \- had been moving around a lot more lately, and it was frightening. How was Sasuke meant to concentrate on anything when the clone- and therefore Sasuke- could feel all that? Last night, he even thought the baby had been _kicking_.

No, it was completely unacceptable to allow his mind to linger on such thoughts. They still had more than four months to go, and so he needed to master his barrier technique as soon as possible to get even a little peace.

But _peace_ was something they were unlikely to get any of this weekend. He and Naruto were babysitting Yuzu and Sakumo while their parents were off enjoying their anniversary. They'd taken care of Yuzu overnight plenty of times, but this would be the first time with _two_ of them.

"Dinner will be ready soon," Naruto announced from where he was pottering around the kitchen in that ridiculous pink apron of his. "And Kumo-chan's food is almost ready too," he added. Sakumo perked up at the sound of his name, gurgling and biting down on his stuffed bear.

Sasuke was helping Yuzu with her latest school project at the table, and trying to ignore what a mess his house was. _It's just one weekend_ , he told himself, turning his mind back to Yuzu's school-work.

"Kanji is too _hard_ ," Yuzu whined, tossing her pencil down and pouting. Sakumo squealed in delight from his highchair, reaching out towards the pencil.

"Oh, tell me about it!" Naruto called from the stove, waving a wooden spoon at them. "I was always _hopeless_ at it!"

Yuzu shot Sasuke a look. "And he's _Hokage_ now," she said. "So I don't see why I have to-"

"He _was_ hopeless at it," Sasuke interrupted, picking up her discarded pencil and moving it a safe distance from Sakumo's determined hands. "But he still had to do all the work. The teachers made him stay behind during lunch and after school if he didn't finish."

"You remember that?!" Naruto exclaimed, gazing over at them with an embarrassed expression on his face. "It's not like it helped me get any better, anyway. Some people just aren't good at kanji, Sasuke!"

"Well, Yuzu isn't one of them," Sasuke said to that, before turning back to the little girl and her scribble-covered paper. "You just need to remember your stroke order. See? You've got it just right here. Do it like that."

"…okay, then," Yuzu said with a troubled sigh, reluctantly taking her pencil back from Sasuke and continuing her work. There was a parent-teacher night next week and her calligraphy would be on display.

Sasuke sat back and watched her. Memories of Itachi helping him with his own calligraphy were flitting through the back of his mind. He wondered if it would ever feel _comforting_ , thinking back on his childhood like this. He'd loved his big brother so much- and Itachi had been good to him, hadn't he, when they were kids? But all of that still felt so _tainted_ , so wrong.

"Time for dinner, Kumo-chan!" Naruto sang out, moving over to the table with Sakumo's dinner- a very unappealing green mush. He sat down in front of the highchair and spooned some of it out of the bowl.

"What is _that_?" Sasuke asked, wrinkling his nose, relieved to have a distraction- as disgusting as it looked.

"It's _gross_ , whatever it is," Naruto replied, blowing on the mush to cool it down. "I just heated up whatever Sakura gave me."

"It's not gross!" Yuzu protested. "It's peas, potato, and zucchini! I helped mama make it," she added, with a pleased and proud expression.

"…lovely," Sasuke murmured. Sakura tried her best, but she was far from being a natural cook. Kakashi was hopeless, too. _No wonder he wants his son to be a chef_ , Sasuke thought. Suddenly it all made sense.

"Open wide, Sakumo!" Naruto cooed to the baby, who was staring at the spoon with suspicion. "Oh, lucky boy, it's so _delicious_!"

"It _is_ delicious," Yuzu muttered, recognizing Naruto's deceiving tone. "…for _babies_."

"Ah, Sasuke, would you mind finishing the vegetables?" Naruto said, glancing over to the stove where the pot was boiling over. "Unless you'd prefer-"

"I'll finish dinner," Sasuke quickly interrupted, staring at Sakumo's disgusted face and deciding that Naruto was _not_ going to have an easy time getting him to eat that stuff. He moved to the kitchen before Naruto forced them to switch.

Needless to say, their own dinner was a vast improvement over Sakumo's- though most of _that_ ended up on his clothes rather than in his mouth. Naruto sat staring at Sasuke and Yuzu forlornly as they ate their food, while he struggled to get baby Sakumo to eat his own.

"That looks nice," he said with a sigh.

"Here," Sasuke said, stabbing a bit of chicken with his fork and holding it in front of Naruto's mouth.

"Thanks, Sas!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes sparkling.

"Don't mention it," Sasuke said back. Parenting was all about _teamwork_ , wasn't it? Naruto needed to eat if he was going to keep his strength up. There were still a few hours before the kids would go to bed and they could relax.

"Do you have to give the clone some dinner?" Yuzu asked, watching Sasuke feed Naruto with amusement. "Mama said it eats real food." Her tone was light and easy, but at her words Sasuke felt something clench up inside him. It was strange to hear her speak of the clone so casually.

"Uh, well, the clone _does_ eat real food," Naruto said to that, quickly gazing at Sasuke before he spoke, "but she's okay at the moment."

Yuzu nodded, eating more of her rice. "Can you tell it's not real?" she mumbled.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Yuzu," Sasuke chided. "And _we_ can tell, obviously. Most shinobi probably could as well. Not civilians, though."

It seemed clear that Sakura had spoken to Yuzu about the clone before, which didn't surprise him. Both Sakura and Kakashi were pretty open with her. Yuzu had needed that- she spent the first part of her life growing up in public, after all, as the daughter of the Hokage. _As will our son_ , Sasuke thought, with a vague sense of apprehension.

"How come it always stays upstairs?" Yuzu asked, carefully finishing her spoonful of rice before speaking.

"That's where her room is, Yuzu," Sasuke said. "She does come down, sometimes. She goes for walks in the woods. But you probably won't ever see her."

"Sasuke doesn't even let _me_ see it," Naruto added with a whine. "Come on, Kumo-chan, just a little more!"

"Do you _want_ to see it?" Yuzu asked him.

"Of course I do," Naruto replied.

"How come?" Yuzu said to that. "It's just a copy of Sasuke."

Naruto blinked, staring over at the little girl in amazement.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel smug at that. Yuzu was so _sensible_. Not even knowing that her uncles had a pregnant, female clone in their upstairs bedroom fazed her.

"She's right, you know," Sasuke said to Naruto. "Even though you claimed you could tell it was a _girl_."

"I _could_ tell!" Naruto protested. "She was so pretty."

"She looks just like _me_ ," Sasuke argued, rolling his eyes. Oh, Naruto had been over the moon the first time he'd seen the clone, beyond amused. God knows why- Sasuke certainly never reacted that way to _Naruto's_ female self.

"But Sasuke, you _do_ look like a girl," Yuzu said, her tone completely innocent. "Your hair is longer than _mine_ -"

Naruto burst out laughing and Sasuke's frown turned into a sulk at once. "I do not!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Sasuke, I love your hair like this," Naruto said with a grin. Sakumo stared at his uncle in amazement, and then burst out laughing himself, his little hands landing in a pile of the green mush on his high-chair.

Sasuke winced. "Bath time," he announced, standing and gingerly taking Sakumo out of his highchair. He clearly wasn't intending to eat a single spoonful more.

"Good idea," Naruto agreed, putting aside Sakumo's bowl with obvious relief and seeking out his own dinner.

"Pull his clothes off here would you, Naruto? I don't want to trail food all the way to the bathroom," Sasuke asked, suddenly seeing his lovely clean floors covered in mush.

"What about my project?" Yuzu protested as Sasuke walked away. "You promised you'd help me!"

" _I'll_ help you," Naruto spoke, pulling his plate towards him and eagerly shovelling down his cold dinner. "Don't worry, I know _all_ the tricks."

Sasuke rolled his eyes again as he carried the baby towards the bathroom. _Well that should all go brilliantly then_ , he thought to himself. "And then it's _your_ bath-time, Yuzu!" he announced.

* * *

Sasuke wandered down the hall, relieved that Yuzu was finally asleep- though only after _three_ storybooks. He found Naruto on the couch with Sakumo wrapped up in his arms, having his night-time bottle.

"I put a little extra milk in," Naruto said to Sasuke as he sat down. "Seeing as he didn't eat much of his dinner. That's okay, isn't it?"

"I guess so. Poor kid," Sasuke murmured, thinking of the food Sakura had left in the fridge for him to eat tomorrow. "We'll have to find a better recipe for baby food."

Naruto grinned at that. "Oh, I figured we'd just feed it ramen-"

"-no," Sasuke interrupted, "no ramen until its fifth birthday." And it would be even longer than that, if Sasuke could help it- but that was the problem with having a child that was half-Naruto; it would probably be _born_ craving ramen.

"Five years old? _That's_ very specific," Naruto muttered. "Almost like you've thought about it before," turning away and gazing down at Sakumo.

Well, you _had_ to think about these things before you had kids with Naruto, honestly.

"And besides," Naruto went on, "When we had lunch at Ichiraku's last week, Kakashi let Sakumo have some-"

"He _didn't_!" Sasuke exclaimed. Did Sakura know about this?! What _else_ did Kakashi get away with?

"-it may have just been some of the broth," Naruto admitted. "Just a spoonful. But he liked it a _lot_ , didn't you Kumo-chan?" Naruto cooed to the baby.

Sakumo cooed back, his hands gripping his bottle tight, happily gurgling away.

" _Our_ kid won't be having any, regardless," Sasuke decreed. Only the healthiest fruit and vegetables, and a bit of meat. There was no way he was letting it grow up on instant ramen like his father had, _that_ was for sure- "What?" Sasuke asked, gazing up and noticing Naruto grinning at him.

"I like to hear you talk about our baby," Naruto said, his eyes bright. "It makes it seem like it's _really_ going to happen!"

"It will, one day," Sasuke said to that, feeling immensely guilty. He was really very hard on Naruto, not letting either of them talk about the baby or of their future as a family. He couldn't help it; it just seemed like any of that sort of talk would jinx everything.

"I wonder what he'll look like," Naruto said with a sigh, eyes still dreamy, lost in his own world.

 _Just like Naruto, hopefully_ , Sasuke thought to himself. The more Uzumaki in him the better.

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke began. "Did you read anything in your book about when the baby would start kicking?"

"Mm," Naruto mused, "I'm not sure- maybe not quite yet. Why, did you feel it?"

"Well, maybe," Sasuke said. "It's hard to tell. It's not kicking _me_ , after all."

"What _does_ it feel like then, Sas?" Naruto went on, evidently thinking he should push his luck while Sasuke was willing to talk.

Sasuke frowned. He really didn't know how to describe it. And it was all so confusing, anyway; all the sensations he got from the clone got hopelessly mixed up with his own. Naruto probably would have had more luck, if Sasuke had let him carry the baby.

"It just feels like butterflies," Sasuke tentatively explained. "You know, like when you're nervous?"

Naruto nodded, looking contemplative as he took Sakumo's empty bottle out of his hands. The baby's eyes were fluttering closed; he'd be asleep in minutes.

"Hey Sas, you know it's not the _clone_ I'm interesting in seeing, right?" Naruto murmured, placing Sakumo on his shoulder and rocking him softly. "It's just that…well, the baby's there too, so…and I know you can't really tell, but…"

Sasuke sighed. "She's getting a little bigger every day," he admitted. "And once the baby _does_ start to kick, we'll be able to feel it from the outside- like when Sakura was pregnant."

"Kumo-chan kicked me in the face one time," Naruto pouted.

"You fell asleep on Sakura's stomach," Sasuke pointed out. " _I_ would have kicked you too!"

"I've tried not to think about all that, though," Naruto admitted. "You know, when the baby's kicking. I know you feel really uncomfortable with it all."

He _did_ feel uncomfortable; why wouldn't he? These were strange circumstances, and Sasuke was doing something he'd never in a million years thought he would have done. And if he'd thought about it for any longer, he probably wouldn't have gone ahead with the plan. He'd tried Naruto's new clone technique as soon as Naruto had brought up the idea, and then the clone had gotten pregnant right away, and…

…and here they were. There was no going back now, so matter _how_ anxious Sasuke was about it all.

"You should go and see her whenever you want," Sasuke said. "Go and see the baby, I mean. You have every right to."

"You mean that?" Naruto asked. "But- really?"

"Really," Sasuke said, stifling a yawn. "It's your baby."

"But it's _your_ body."

Sasuke shrugged at that. "What's mine is yours. Or something like that," he said, trying to remember all the things he'd agreed to when they gotten married.

"So…whenever I like? I can just…go up there?"

"Yes," Sasuke confirmed.

Naruto looked terrified. "Will you come with me?"

Sasuke bit back a smile. "What're you so scared of?" he teased. "It's just a copy of _me_."

"Oh, but I…please, Sasuke?"

This time he really _did_ smile. "Sure, I'll come with you. Not now, though. We have to put this guy to bed," he said, nodding at Sakumo, who was fast asleep on Naruto's shoulder.

"You look tired, Sasuke. Maybe we should have an early night," Naruto suggested.

Of course he was tired. Sakura and Kakashi had left first thing this morning, and Sakumo had _not_ been impressed to be left behind, screaming his displeasure at his absent parents.

Naruto stood and headed for their bedroom and Sasuke trailed after him, dragging his feet and yawning again. He helped Naruto tuck Kumo-chan into the crib they had beside their bed. Then he took a quick shower and when he returned to their room, he found Naruto fast asleep, his bedside lamp still on and the baby book open on his face.

Sasuke gazed at him fondly, reaching down to retrieve the book. He glanced at it, feeling curious. What was Naruto reading about tonight…?

… _you may start to feel your baby kicking once you reach five months,_ the book read; _you shouldn't be alarmed if it takes longer, however._

Sasuke smiled. Naruto had become a very responsible man, indeed.

He put the book aside and switched off the bedside lamp, leaving only his own lit across the bed. He went down the corridor to check on Yuzu. The little girl was securely asleep, curled up in her futon in the room that would one day belong to their son.

Sasuke sighed, heading back to his own room, gazing down at Sakumo and adjusting his blankets before slipping into bed and falling asleep.

* * *

Sasuke had always been a much lighter sleeper than Naruto, so he was surprised to wake up and find the blonde gone- and the crib next to their bed was empty, too. He stared over at the crib for a few moments before his mind woke up a bit more. He slid out from under the sheets and headed out to the hallway to track down his missing husband and their infant charge.

He found them in the kitchen, Naruto pacing back and forth with an unsettled, whimpering Sakumo in his arms.

"Sorry, Sasuke," Naruto spoke when he noticed him standing there. "I was trying not to wake you, so I brought him out here."

"Is he okay?" Sasuke murmured, stepping closer to them both and gazing down at the fussing baby.

"I think so. I changed his diaper and gave him some milk, and he's still upset so- I guess he just misses his parents," Naruto replied. "Is this the first night he's spent away from them?'

Sasuke shook his head. "He's slept at his grandparents' before. You're probably right, though. You should come back to bed now that I'm awake." He took Naruto's hand and tugged him back towards their room. He didn't want Sakumo's crying to wake Yuzu as well.

"He doesn't have a fever or anything," Naruto went on as he settled on their bed, still rocking Sakumo gently.

"You checked that as well?" Sasuke asked, impressed.

He nodded. "There was a baby thermometer in the first-aid kit Sakura left us," he explained.

 _Trust a medic to be thorough_ , Sasuke thought to himself. Who prepared a first-aid kit for the babysitters?

Sasuke reached out and took Sakumo from Naruto's arms and sat him down between them on the bed. "Now listen," he scolded Sakumo gently. "Uncle Naruto's been playing with you all day, and now he wants to sleep. So you need to let him, or there'll be no more peek-a-boo tomorrow, understand?" They'd done that for more than an _hour_ today. Naruto's attention span for these inane games knew no limit, apparently.

Sakumo stopped whinging and stared up at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"No _peek-a-boo_?" Naruto exclaimed, looking stricken. "That's harsh, Sasuke!"

"Well, he'll keep fussing as long as you stay awake with him," Sasuke pronounced, picking Sakumo up and taking him back to his crib. "There, now. Go to sleep like a good boy," he instructed, tucking the blankets up to his chin and patting his head until he closed his eyes.

He stood there for a few more minutes, gazing down at Sakumo's sleeping face.

"Is he really asleep?" Naruto asked from the bed.

Sasuke shrugged. "For now," he replied with a yawn. "Anyway, we should go back to sleep as well…"

Naruto held the blankets up and Sasuke slipped underneath them, grinning when Naruto tucked them under his chin just liked he'd done with the baby. "There now," Naruto teased, leaning down and kissing him softly. "Go to sleep like a good boy."

* * *

The rest of the weekend flew by. They spent the morning weeding the garden, and then after Sakumo's nap they went into town to their favourite café for an afternoon treat. Sasuke's sharp eyes didn't miss Naruto feeding Kumo-chan a bit of the icing from his chocolate cake. But even Sasuke relented and accepted a bite of Yuzu's strawberry shortcake.

By the evening Naruto and Sasuke were exhausted, and more than happy to return the children to their parents.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto said to Sasuke as they lay passed out on the couch, trying to gather the strength for a shower. "There's definitely only _one_ baby in there, right?! We're not having twins?"

"God no," Sasuke said with a groan. "Why are two kids _four times_ as difficult as one? Yuzu by herself was plenty exhausting enough, but…"

"Mm, Kumo-chan is so cute though," Naruto said back, his tired eyes brightening a bit. "The way he smiled at me when I reached down to get him out of bed this morning…it was so sweet, Sas!"

"I'm sure you'll have plenty more chances to see that face," Sasuke informed him. "Sakura and Kakashi seemed to enjoy their weekend away a _lot_."

"…wow, can you imagine doing this with _our_ kid added to the mix?!"

They both fell silent at that horrific image. Sasuke shuddered.

"Let's have a shower," he said, shaking off the mental picture of his house in absolute ruins at the hands of three children. "And then we're going to _bed_."


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto sat in his office gazing down at the ultra-sound picture that Sakura had given him last week. Their baby really did look like a _proper_ baby now, a real little person, with tiny fingers and toes and everything. _He's waving_ , Naruto thought to himself, looking at how his son's little fingers were all splayed out, almost like he knew someone was watching and he wanted to say hello.

Naruto grinned. _You're an idiot_ , he scolded himself. Waving? How absurd.

His mind drifted off to his favourite daydream topic: what would their son look like? Naruto didn't really mind, but he did hope his child looked at least a _little_ bit like him. Enough that people would look at their son and say, _oh, you've got your daddy Naruto's eyes_. Something like that.

It sounded silly, and it _was_ ; but no-one had ever said anything like that to _him_ when he was growing up. Naruto had been alone, and he didn't even look like anyone else in the village. And now some of his friends had families, and they were always finding little parts of themselves in their children. It was nice.

 _Well, it doesn't matter, though_ , Naruto thought. He'd really expected Sasuke to say no to his and Sakura's idea, and so in his mind he'd been much more prepared to adopt a child than to have one of his own. Their kid may not have looked anything like either of them then, and it wouldn't have made a difference at all. One day people still might have said, _oh, you've got your daddy Naruto's smile._

There was a brief knock at the door. "Naruto?" came a voice. He scrambled to hide the photo under a book as the door opened and Sasuke came into the room. "Naruto, Konohamaru's team ran into some trouble on their mission-"

Naruto's mind flashed red immediately and he slipped into high alert mode. " _What_!" he cried, pushing himself up from his desk. "Are they okay?! Is _he_ okay?"

"Ah, he's fine- sorry, Naruto," Sasuke said at once, wrinkling his nose, looking guilty. "They're a little injured, but they'll be alright."

"Oh, thank god," Naruto exclaimed, falling back into his seat. "What _happened_?" It had been weeks since they'd had any incidents at _all_ on their missions, and months since they'd had a serious problem.

"An ambush, apparently," Sasuke said, reading off a piece of paper in his hand. "They're on their way home now, so we need to send a replacement team to finish their mission."

Naruto took another deep breath and willed his heart-rate to return to normal. Trouble on missions was one of his worst nightmares- and Konohamaru?! No, Naruto couldn't _bear_ the thought of anything happening to him.

Ino came into the room behind Sasuke and flashed him a grin. "So who are we sending, boss?" she asked, moving over to the mission status board in Naruto's office. Ino was the head of the mission assignment and progress team, and it would be her job to make sure the mission was completed regardless of any problems.

Naruto stood and joined her. "If there's the risk of any more trouble, I'd like to send a surveillance crew. Kiba's team just got back, so-"

"No," Sasuke interrupted, leaning forward and placing a finger on the blue dot under their team. "You've got them marked for duties in Konoha."

Oh, right. Kiba's youngest baby was turning one this week and he wanted to stay in town.

"Hanabi's team, then," Ino suggested. "Their mission to Suna can easily be delayed until they get back- or we can send Hinata and Shino to Suna by themselves."

Naruto nodded. "Alright. When is Konohamaru's team expected back? Have medics been sent off to help them?"

Ino shook her head. "They said that wasn't necessary- and they'll be back in a few hours. I'm keeping track of their progress and they'll go straight to the hospital to be checked out anyway."

"Here's an outline of what we know of their mission," Sasuke added, handing his paper to Naruto.

"Thank you," he said to Sasuke. "Ino, will you be able to brief Hanabi's team ASAP? Send them in to see me after you're done. Then they can prepare and they can leave tonight once they speak to Konohamaru."

"Roger that," Ino said with a quick smile and nod. "I'll let you know when to expect them." She waved and left the room.

"…damn," Naruto said, staggered over to the couch and falling down heavily once she was gone. "Sasuke, what did I say about the word _trouble_?" It set off alarm bells in his head like crazy. Honestly, Naruto had only been Hokage for a little over a year and he felt like it had aged him by a decade _already_.

Sasuke tilted his head. "You've already forbidden me from using the words _accident, incident_ , and _problem_ , though," he pointed out. "I'm running out of ways to say it. He's fine, Naruto. These things happen."

"I wish they _didn't_ ," Naruto muttered under his breath. Why couldn't everyone just stay _safe_?

Sasuke glanced over at the door and then slid down next to him on the couch, taking his hand. "What can I do to help?"

"Hmm," Naruto pondered. "Well, okay- next time you have bad news for me, try wearing your glasses. That always makes me feel better."

"Idiot," Sasuke said, poking his cheek, scolding him gently. "I don't know why you like them so much-"

"You clearly haven't looked in the mirror while you've got them on, then," Naruto interrupted, feeling his skin heat up at the thought. Just when he thought Sasuke couldn't get any cuter, he started wearing glasses while doing paperwork sometimes. They drove Naruto _wild_.

"I expect you'll be home late, then," Sasuke went on, evidently deciding to change the subject. "You'll want to visit Konohamaru in the hospital. Have you finished reviewing the agenda for the council session? I can delay your meeting tomorrow with Shikamaru-"

"Ah no, I did it this morning," Naruto said, waving that off. "But I haven't finished signing off on the latest mission reports. I've read all the summaries, though." That was the very next thing on his to-do list- once he could drag his eyes away from the ultra-sound photo, that was.

"I'll finish them," Sasuke said. "Have some water or something, Naruto. Everything's okay."

He nodded and gave Sasuke a tight smile as he left the room, closing the door behind him. Naruto sat there for a few more minutes. Everything was okay, Sasuke said, and Ino had said they weren't badly injured, so…it was _fine_. But an ambush, really? That was…worrying.

He sighed, heading back to his desk. He needed to read the paper Sasuke had given him and then pull himself together before Hanabi's team stopped by to be briefed. He quickly slipped the ultra-sound photo back into his top draw, his hand trembling a little. He didn't want to think about his son- about his future family- when he'd just gotten news like _that_.

AAAAAAA

"I'm home," Naruto called, closing the front door softly behind him and slipping off his shoes. He lined them up neatly- a habit he'd only managed to learn after many years of Sasuke's nagging. "Sas?"

"In the study," came Sasuke's voice in return.

Naruto followed his voice down the hallway and into their bedroom, then through the adjoining door to their home office. He smiled at the sight of Sasuke at his desk, with all four cats surrounding him- a rare glimpse of Sasuke in his natural habitat.

"Oh, look who's stopped by for a visit," he said with a grin, stepping forward and scratching Midori's ears. She arched her back and _mrr_ -ed happily at him, and Mr. Socks immediately jumped up onto the desk and rolled over for a belly-rub.

"They were waiting for me when I got home," Sasuke explained. "How was it at the hospital?"

Naruto sat down on the edge of the desk. "They're all okay, and the mission won't be too adversely affected by it. Moegi actually had a broken arm. It's been healed now, but I've put them all on rest and desk duty for the next week anyway- the next _fortnight_ , if I can help it."

Sasuke nodded, pushing away his paperwork and stretching his arms above his head with an adorable little yawn. It was so cute, it _almost_ put Naruto back at ease. "And are _you_ feeling alright?"

Well, Naruto wasn't so sure about that. "I guess so," he said, and even _he_ could hear the hesitation in his voice. Konohamaru had been a little shaken- they hadn't been expecting any trouble on their mission. Mr. Socks meowed loudly at him and he realised he'd stop petting the spoiled feline. "Ah, sorry," he said, quickly resuming his task.

"I've got some positive news for you, if you like," Sasuke said, with just as much hesitation in his voice. "Sakura dropped by and gave us some sake as a thank-you for last weekend-"

"Oh, that's _great_ news!" Naruto exclaimed, brightening up at once. "Where is it? Let's have some now!"

"That's not the good news, moron!" Sasuke scowled. "Sakura measured the clone's stomach and says she's grown a whole inch since last week. And, she should get bigger by an inch every week until the baby's born. You can actually tell there's a _baby_ in there now."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really?" he said. "Ah, that _is_ better news than sake!"

The last time he'd seen the clone there'd been a slight hint of a baby-bump, but you could barely tell. Honestly, given how skinny Sasuke and the clone were, Naruto was surprised at how long it was taking for her to look pregnant. How was that even _possible-_ where was the baby hiding?!

"I meant it when I said that you can go visit her," Sasuke went on, gazing over at him. "I- I don't mind, really, if you want to."

 ** _Do_** _I want to?_ Naruto asked himself. He'd said he did last weekend, and of course he'd been whining about it for so long, but… "Will you come with me?" he asked, feeling his cheeks grow pink with embarrassment. Somehow, he couldn't face the idea of going up there by himself.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Naruto…"

"Please? It's, uh…you know, this whole thing is just so _strange_ …"

"No kidding," Sasuke muttered, lifting Ao off his lap and standing up. "Sure, I'll come. I've just finished all this paperwork anyway, so."

"Thank you, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed. Oh, Sasuke really _was_ nice to him sometimes!

AAAAAAA

"What do you think?" Sasuke murmured, as they stood in the room in front of the clone. "She _is_ a little bigger, right?"

"Yes, definitely," Naruto said back at once, completely blown away by how much had changed so quickly. "She doesn't even _look_ like you anymore!" he added. The clone was now very clearly a _woman_ , a _pregnant_ woman, with her clothes clinging to rounded stomach. A _baby bump_ , as the book called it.

 _That's my son in there_ , Naruto thought to himself, a shiver running down his spine.

Sasuke smirked. "So you don't think she looks like my more attractive twin anymore?" he teased.

"No-one's more attractive than _you_ , Sas," Naruto quickly said back, pressing a kiss to his cheek, lingering there for a moment. "All I ever said was that you made a _particularly_ attractive girl-"

"Right," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. "Oh, look. They're not sure of her at _all_ ," he added, glancing at the way the cats were circling the clone. All four had followed them up the stairs and had made a bee-line for the clone reclining on her futon, but now they seemed very hesitant indeed. Ginger kept turning her head back to Sasuke and looked supremely confused.

Sasuke must have decided to have the clone win them over, because she reached out to them from the futon and immediately started petting Midori when she got close enough. Midori was by far the bravest of their cats, and if she accepted the clone then the others would be fine.

"She'll need new clothes soon, hey?" Naruto commented, finding it hard to draw his eyes away from the clone's rounded belly.

"I suppose so," Sasuke said back, gazing at the clone with a critical eye. "They _are_ a little tight."

"Hmm, how about a nice dress? We could go maternity clothes shopping," Naruto teased, and then he squeaked and backed towards the door when Sasuke shot him a deadly glare. "Ahh! Just kidding, kitten-"

"We'll ask Sakura if she has any old stuff," Sasuke said with a sigh, apparently deciding to let Naruto's comment pass without punishment. "She can wear _your_ clothes for now," he went on with a decisive little nod.

...well, that was a very appealing idea. Naruto loved when Sasuke wore his clothes.

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke murmured, his gaze on the clone again, a strangely-introspective expression taking over his features. "Do you think I should cut my hair...? It _is_ getting a little long..."

Naruto's heart stopped beating in his chest for a moment. Where had _that_ come from?! "No," he declared at once. "Sasuke, _no_! You _wouldn't_ , would you?!"

Sasuke turned to face him, startled. "But Yuzu said it makes me look like a girl..."

"I _love_ your hair," Naruto said emphatically. So what if it was a little long? It was beautiful, and it suited him. "I will _cry_ if you cut it- _cry_ , Sasuke!" What had gotten into him today? It was very rare indeed for him to be concerned about his _looks_.

Sasuke blinked, a slight sprinkling of pink covering his cheeks. "...oh. Well, okay then."

"You won't cut it?!" Naruto whined. Of course even if Sasuke shaved himself completely bald he would _still_ be the most beautiful creature on the planet, but…

"I guess not," Sasuke said in reply, shooting the clone's hair another critical look. She was wearing it out, flowing loosely down the back of her neck.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. _Good_. "Hey, have you felt any more _almost kicking_ yet?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. "I don't know how you're meant to _tell_. It _does_ feel different than before, but..." he sighed. "I guess when he's _really_ kicking, I'll just know."

And Naruto just hoped that Sasuke would tell him. Sasuke wouldn't keep it from him to be deliberately mean, of course not. He was just such a private person that he often needed time to think about something before he shared- time to decide how he felt about it himself before telling others. Sasuke _did_ tell him things, eventually; that was enough for him.

Even now he could tell something was on his mind. He wouldn't push, though. Sasuke would talk to him or he wouldn't- no good would come from insisting.

AAAAAAAA

The image of the clone's rounded belly stuck in his kind long into the night.

Naruto couldn't help but feel uneasy about the thought of her walking to and from the hospital looking like that. The people of Konoha had known from that very first month that the Hokage was "up to something"- of course they did! This was a small place, and rumours had been flying. Seeing Naruto and Sasuke's clones around town certainly wasn't rare, but there was clearly something different about this one- and it had stuck around for much longer than usual.

And by now everyone at the hospital had seen the clone coming and going for her check-ups; news would have spread quickly from there. It wouldn't just be the hospital staff now, though: it would be clear to anyone with eyes that she was _pregnant_. He and Sasuke might not have made a big announcement about it- why on earth _would_ they have- but they weren't keeping it a secret, either.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto murmured, shuffling closer to Sasuke's back, slipping an arm around his waist. "Maybe we should have the clone be a little bit more subtle about things now? You know, at least wear a coat when she's coming to and from the hospital…"

"In the middle of summer? Yes, very subtle, Naruto," Sasuke said back, lacing his fingers through Naruto's.

"…true point," Naruto said to that.

It's not like people hadn't _guessed_. It had been the most popular theory for at least a month now, according to his sources on the current gossip in Konoha. Luckily not a single person had dared to approach Sasuke with questions- no, they didn't say anything to him about it at all. But they certainly asked _Naruto_ , and he deflected them as best he could.

"Are you worried about it?" Sasuke asked. "Sakura said she'd handle any questions. Put out a statement or something, once news got out. But weirder things have happened, you know. They'll get over it."

Naruto let out a frustrated breath. He _was_ worried about it, though he couldn't have said _why_. He reached out and gently tugged the hair-tie out of Sasuke's hair, and then buried his face in those beautiful raven locks.

"I _love_ your hair," he declared, his voice muffled. "Please don't cut it."

Sasuke scoffed softly. "If it means that much to you..."

"It _does_ ," Naruto said. "Really."

Sasuke took a moment to reply. "...okay," he said eventually. "I won't, then."

"Good," Naruto said back, relieved that the threat had been removed. He closed his eyes and nestled closer to Sasuke's warmth and tried to sleep.

Little Go-chan was 22 weeks along now, and that meant they were more than halfway there. It felt strange, like he and Sasuke were living their lives in some sort of waiting-room. As much as they both tried to put that thought aside and get on with things, the knowledge that next year their lives would be completely different coloured everything.

Of course, Sasuke would say it was just as likely that they'd leave the waiting-room empty handed- that this could all still fail at any moment. At first Naruto had tried to think like that as well, but the second he'd found out that the baby was a _boy_ , everything changed. The baby became _real_. That was his son in those ultra-sound pictures, and Naruto was desperate to meet him.

AAAAAAA

Naruto visited Konohamaru and his team in the hospital again the next morning, and was relieved to find that they were just fine- ready to be discharged, in fact. And Ino had heard from Hanabi's team that they'd resumed the mission without any difficulties. Crisis averted, and everything was back to normal.

He arrived back at the tower with a grin on his face and quickly made his way to Sasuke's office. A woman had stopped him on the street outside the hospital this morning and given him something _very_ interesting.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out, bursting into the office opposite his own. "Check this out!"

"We're a little busy, Naruto," Sasuke said to him with a frown. Naruto bit back a grin, seeing Sasuke's three assistants swap amused looks behind Sasuke's back- only their boss would _dare_ to speak to the Hokage like that.

"It'll just take a second," Naruto insisted, stepping closer to where Sasuke was standing in front of the whiteboard that covered a whole wall of his office. "You need see this, it's awesome!" he insisted.

There was a whispered comment from behind them and Sasuke frowned, turning around and shooting his girls a _look_. Instantly they dispersed throughout the room and made themselves look busy.

Sasuke sighed and headed for the door. "Fine, you can have five minutes," he said.

Naruto followed him across the hall and once they'd entered his office he closed the door securely behind him. "A _whole_ five minutes?" he cooed, reaching out to take hold of Sasuke's shirt and tug him closer.

Sasuke gazed down at the bag in Naruto's hand, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. " _Mommy and me_...?" he read. "Naruto, you _didn't_! I told you she can just wear _your_ clothes-"

"-ah, no, this is for the baby!" Naruto interrupted, pulling the contents of the bag out and holding it up. It was a tiny, fuzzy orange playsuit, complete with a furry tail on the back and little fox ears on the hood.

Sasuke blinked and stared at it, his eyes flat and neutral. "Not maternity clothes then," he murmured. He reached out for the outfit and Naruto handed it over.

"Of course not," Naruto said back. Bringing _those_ into their house would be far too risky- he was too young to die! Besides, the clone looked fine in Naruto's old training shirts, and Sasuke said she felt very comfortable.

"You bought this?" Sasuke asked, the tone of his voice completely indecipherable as he turned the little outfit over in his hands, running his eyes over every detail of the fuzzy orange thing.

Naruto twitched. Was Sasuke angry? Annoyed? _Pleased_? He had no idea. "Uh, no, it was a _gift_! From the owner of this store- it's just around the corner from here, you know the one?"

"I _don't_ know," Sasuke said, shaking his head minutely. "She just... _gave_ it to you?"

"Yep!" Naruto replied, putting on his most cheerful grin. He'd hesitated to show the outfit to Sasuke, but he'd just been so _delighted_ when he'd opened the package, he couldn't help himself! With its little tail and furry ears…it was adorable, just _perfect_.

"We don't even have anything for the baby yet," Sasuke murmured, running his fingers over the fuzzy fabric. "It'll be winter when he's born..."

"Oh well, we still have time to figure all that stuff out," Naruto said back. _Months_ , in fact. And of course they hadn't bought anything yet- that would have just been jinxing the whole thing!

"We need to get a crib, and blankets, and we don't have any toys..." Sasuke's carefully composed face disrupted a little as he spoke, and a slight tremor of anxiety crossed his smooth features.

"We've got plenty of time," Naruto said again, trying his best to sound reassuring. "Sorry, Sas- I really didn't mean to stress you out or anything..."

Sasuke shook his head again. "No, it's- it's fine. This is...really cute," he added, a tiny smile appearing on his face, his fingers tracing the little fox ears.

Naruto melted, relieved beyond belief. Oh, he was happy- he _liked_ it! "I know, right?" he exclaimed, delighted. "And the colour! Isn't it _amazing_?"

"It's certainly... _vivid_ ," Sasuke said to that, his eyes still glued to the little outfit. He sighed. "At least we have one outfit for him to wear." He took the bag from Naruto and carefully placed the outfit inside. Then he stepped forward and pressed his lips to Naruto's cheek. "And now I'm going back to work."

Naruto accepted the bag back without a word, watching Sasuke return to his office with a wide grin on his face. This was all _really_ happening, and he could see it in Sasuke's eyes: his precious Sas was just as excited about their future family as Naruto himself was. It would be challenging, it would be scary, but they were _ready_. The next four and a half months were sure to fly by. They'd be holding their little son in their arms in no time!


End file.
